About 1.6 million Ukrainian children living under Russian control face a system of military indoctrination, which may amount to a crime against humanity, according to a report by independent experts commissioned by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

The report, presented Thursday in Vienna under the OSCE's Moscow Mechanism, concluded that Russia has established an institutional system to "brainwash these children and indoctrinate them with its ideology."

French expert Hervé Asensio said: "We believe that this system may amount to a crime against humanity," adding that children and their families are targeted when they try to maintain their Ukrainian identity.

Latvian expert Elīna Šteinerta explained that authorities sent military service summons to young people in the occupied territories earlier than in other regions of Russia.

She added that many young people they met left those territories "without informing their families" to escape forced conscription.

The report, which AFP has seen, documents lessons on handling weapons and training camps, and cites cases of young people who were integrated into the army and then sent to the front line.

It recommends including the issue of children in any ceasefire or peace negotiations, as well as opening humanitarian corridors to allow family reunification.

According to Šteinerta, Ukraine has established some "reintegration programs," but the work to be done is "enormous."

The experts estimate that these violations affect about 1.6 million children living in Crimea and the partially occupied Ukrainian regions.

Kyiv confirms that 20,610 children have been transferred to Russian territory.

This report comes under the OSCE's Moscow Mechanism, which aims to investigate the human rights situation. The mechanism was activated last May 14 by 41 participating states of the organization.