UK Intelligence: Russia Intensifies Efforts to Erase Ukrainian Identity in Occupied Territories
British intelligence has released information that Russia is actively pursuing a policy of Russification in the occupied Ukrainian territories.
The Gaze reports on it, referring to a post made by the UK Ministry of Defence on social media platform X.
According to British intelligence, recent Kremlin documents, in particular Vladimir Putin's decree “Strategy of Russia's National Policy for the Period until 2036,” explicitly provide for the formation of Russian identity and the spread of the Russian language in the territories that Moscow illegally occupied after invading Ukraine.
The policy includes the imposition of Russian culture, the delegitimization of Ukrainian statehood, and the gradual displacement of the Ukrainian language and traditions.
The intelligence report also emphasized that the strategy covers not only Crimea, but also the occupied and Russian-controlled parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, referring to them as “historic territories of the Russian state.”
“This directly contradicts Russia's own formal recognition of Ukraine's independence and sovereignty following the collapse of the Soviet Union,” the statement goes.
According to analysts, such actions demonstrate the imperialist nature of the Kremlin's policy.
“The document’s reference to these sovereign Ukrainian oblasts as ‘historical territories of the Russian state’ emphasises the overtly imperialist aspect of Russia’s continuing efforts to subjugate Ukraine,” British intelligence concludes.
As The Gaze previously reported, Russia continues a systematic policy of indoctrination and Russification of children in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, aiming to cultivate future soldiers loyal to the Kremlin. Programs such as the “Yunarmiya” youth movement, “military-patriotic centers,” and cadet classes in local schools are being expanded, exposing children to military training, ideological education, and distorted historical narratives.
Funding for these initiatives has reportedly doubled or even tripled, reflecting the Kremlin’s long-term strategy to secure a generation aligned with its military and political goals.
The campaign targets both orphans and general youth populations, introducing combat skills and anti-Western sentiment from early school years. Children are being groomed to serve in the military or law enforcement, while extracurricular programs reinforce loyalty to Russian ideology.
According to Ukrainian officials, this intensive militarization and ideological manipulation are designed to erase Ukrainian identity, foster hostility toward Ukraine, and prepare youth for participation in future conflicts, solidifying Russia’s control over occupied regions.
Read more on The Gaze: Russia’s War on Ukraine: An Unprecedented Act of Genocide Targeting Ukraine’s National Identity and Existence