Russian Indoctrination of Ukrainian Youth Exposed by UK Intelligence
British intelligence has reported that Russia is imposing political propaganda on Ukrainian children in the occupied territories, in particular through military-patriotic organizations and special educational programs.
The Gaze reports on it, referring to the UK Ministry of Defense on the social media platform X.
In particular, this involves compulsory “political education” aimed at shaping pro-Russian and anti-Ukrainian views among young people.
The Kremlin's youth organizations are involved in the process, in particular, the Russian Ministry of Defense's Yunarmiya and the Movement of the Firsts. They not only spread propaganda messages, but also teach Ukrainian children military skills. At the same time, Russian “educational authorities” explain such activities by the need to counter “extremism.”
A typical example is the 2022 Russian manual, titled Preventing conflicts, manifestations of extremism and terrorism in a poly-cultural educational environment, where the Ukrainian slogan “Glory to Ukraine” is defined as a sign of extremism.
In addition, Moscow organizes so-called “University Sessions”: children from the occupied territories are taken to Russian universities, where they are subjected to patriotic indoctrination and glorification of the actions of the Russian military.
According to British intelligence, since the beginning of 2022, about 50,000 Ukrainian children have participated in such programs at 116 universities in the Russian Federation.
Russia is trying to use the education system and youth organizations as a tool for long-term propaganda aimed at changing the identity of Ukrainian children and strengthening control over the occupied territories.
As The Gaze informed earlier, the United Kingdom has announced a new package of sanctions against Russian officials and organizations involved in the forced deportation, indoctrination, and militarization of Ukrainian children in the temporarily occupied territories.