ISW: Russian occupiers continue the militarization of Ukrainian children and youth in the occupied areas

ISW: Russian occupiers continue the militarization of Ukrainian children and youth in the occupied areas

Russian invaders in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine continue the militarization of Ukrainian children and youth. In particular, in the Russian-controlled part of the Donetsk region, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation gave a lecture to schoolchildren on “countering extremism and terrorism” with the aim of developing “moral standards and patriotism” in children.

This was reported in the summary of the American Institute for the Study of War ( ISW ). It is noted that Russian opposition media previously established that it was this formation and its leader Alexander Bastrykin who were involved in facilitating the deportation of children from occupied Ukraine to Russia.

In addition, as analysts noted, a Russian official supervised the placement of deported Ukrainian children in Russian cadet courses.

In general, citing Ukrainian sources, ISW emphasized that the Russian occupation authorities continue to introduce Russian military-patriotic education in schools of occupied Ukraine through the educational program “Lessons of Courage” and other similar courses.