Monitoring Report "Universal Soldier" or Education as a Tool of Russia in the Occupied South of Ukraine
Source: Almenda Center for Public
Policy Following the start of the temporary occupation of Ukrainian territories, the Russian Federation established total control over all spheres of life in the occupied territories and, through the occupation administrations it has established, systematically imposes its own political, cultural, religious, and educational narratives. Particular attention is paid to children and youth. Through formal and informal education, summer “health” programs, and recreational and cultural events, the occupying authorities are deliberately eroding the Ukrainian identity of minors and preparing them to serve the aggressor state.
Monitoring of open sources during July–September 2025 reveals that Russia used the summer period, traditionally intended for children’s recreation, for intensive military training: children underwent firearms, tactical, and engineering training in camps under the supervision of Russian military personnel, participated in militarized games, visited military facilities, and met with so-called “heroes of the Special Military Operation.”
Starting September 1, 2025, new standardized history textbooks (covering world and Russian history) were introduced in the temporarily occupied territories for grades 5–9, the retraining of teachers began to ensure the “correct” dissemination of Russian narratives, and the policy of forced passportization was intensified, including public ceremonies where children took oaths of allegiance to Russia.
Under the guise of “patriotic education,” “health camps,” and “educational trips,” Ukrainian children are systematically taken to the Russian Federation and the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, where they undergo ideological indoctrination, a Russian identity is imposed on them, Russian military personnel are glorified, and an image of Ukraine as an enemy state is fostered.
The “Almenda” Center for Civic Education emphasizes that such actions constitute a gross violation of international law, specifically Articles 50 and 51 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Articles 29, 38, and 39 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and Article 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibit the propaganda of war.
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Policy Following the start of the temporary occupation of Ukrainian territories, the Russian Federation established total control over all spheres of life in the occupied territories and, through the occupation administrations it has established, systematically imposes its own political, cultural, religious, and educational narratives. Particular attention is paid to children and youth. Through formal and informal education, summer “health” programs, and recreational and cultural events, the occupying authorities are deliberately eroding the Ukrainian identity of minors and preparing them to serve the aggressor state.
Monitoring of open sources during July–September 2025 reveals that Russia used the summer period, traditionally intended for children’s recreation, for intensive military training: children underwent firearms, tactical, and engineering training in camps under the supervision of Russian military personnel, participated in militarized games, visited military facilities, and met with so-called “heroes of the Special Military Operation.”
Starting September 1, 2025, new standardized history textbooks (covering world and Russian history) were introduced in the temporarily occupied territories for grades 5–9, the retraining of teachers began to ensure the “correct” dissemination of Russian narratives, and the policy of forced passportization was intensified, including public ceremonies where children took oaths of allegiance to Russia.
Under the guise of “patriotic education,” “health camps,” and “educational trips,” Ukrainian children are systematically taken to the Russian Federation and the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, where they undergo ideological indoctrination, a Russian identity is imposed on them, Russian military personnel are glorified, and an image of Ukraine as an enemy state is fostered.
The “Almenda” Center for Civic Education emphasizes that such actions constitute a gross violation of international law, specifically Articles 50 and 51 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Articles 29, 38, and 39 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and Article 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibit the propaganda of war.
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