Two teenagers were arrested in the Netherlands earlier this week on suspicion of spying for pro-Russian hackers, Dutch daily the Telegraaf reported on Friday.
The Dutch prosecution service confirmed two 17-year-olds were arrested on Monday.
"They were arrested on suspicions that are linked to government-sponsored interference," prosecution spokesperson Brechtje van de Moosdijk said, adding that further information could not be given as the suspects are minors.
Citing the father of one of the boys, the Telegraaf reported that they had been contacted by pro-Russian hackers on Telegram.
The father told the paper that the boys are accused of spying because they had walked around areas of The Hague that house the European police organization Europol and the Eurojust agency for criminal justice cooperation, as well as many embassies, with a device or app designed to capture data sent over digital networks.
Dutch teens arrested for spying for Russia
Eurojust helped set up and house a joint investigation team together with Ukraine, European Union member states, Europol, and the International Criminal Court, which looks at alleged Russian crimes following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The Dutch intelligence agency AIVD declined to comment on the details reported by the Telegraaf. A lawyer for one of the suspects did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Telegraaf reported that similar incidents have been reported in Germany recently, where Kremlin actors recruited German citizens for smaller jobs like vandalism, arson, or filming government infrastructure.
The Guardian also reported that Russia was recruiting unknowing suicide bombers in Ukraine to do similar odd jobs. Russian actors on Telegram paid teenagers to bomb police stations, post offices, or military targets under the guise of odd jobs postings for mild vandalism or filming jobs as part of an ongoing shadow war.
Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Britain had arrested three people under suspicion of spying for Russia.
Two middle-aged men and one woman in her 30s were accused of offenses under the National Security Act, which was brought in two years ago to give new powers to target threats from foreign states.
In July, three men were found guilty of an arson attack on Ukraine-linked businesses in London, which British officials said had been ordered by Russia's Wagner mercenary group, with two others admitting their involvement in the attack.
That followed the conviction in March of a team of Bulgarians for being part of a spy unit being run on behalf of the Kremlin.
"Through our recent national security casework, we're seeing an increasing number of who we would describe as 'proxies' being recruited by foreign intelligence services," said Commander Dominic Murphy, head of London police's Counter Terrorism Command.
The Kremlin has denied the accusations, saying the British government repeatedly blames Russia for anything "bad" that happens in Britain.