In occupied Ukrainian territories, Russian authorities are forcing Ukrainian children into a school system that violates their right to education and seems designed to destroy their Ukrainian national identity.
A new Human Rights Watch report details how the education system mirrors Russia’s national curriculum and excludes Ukrainian-language instruction.
Occupation authorities surveil and punish children for studying in Ukrainian schools online, require students to obtain Russian passports to graduate, indoctrinate children with anti-Ukraine propaganda and militaristic lessons, and channel boys toward Russian military registration and conscription.
“Russia is using schools to teach Ukrainian children loyalty to the Kremlin, glorify the Russian invasion, and prepare them to go to war against their own people,” said Bill Van Esveld, associate children’s rights director at HRW.
>> Read the report: A systematic effort to erase Ukrainian identity
Children, parents, and psychologists described armed men visiting or raiding homes and taking computers and phones to search for Ukrainian online school materials, and threatening to send children to residential institutions if they were not enrolled in Russian-run schools. Children who reach Ukrainian-controlled territory often show signs of anxiety and trauma.
One young man we spoke to is 18 now, but he and his sister spent three years living and going to school in Russian-occupied Ukraine. They told us how years of intimidation, forced Russification, propaganda, and military pressure continue to shape how they see school, their language, and their place among other Ukrainians.
An estimated 1.6 million children, 600,000 of whom are school-age, remain in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories. They are entitled to an education that respects their language, culture, and national values.
While the abuses against children in occupied Ukrainian territory are well-documented, those able to relocate from occupied territory also need support for a chance to thrive despite their trauma.
