How Russia Tries to Re-Educate Ukrainian Children in Occupied Regions | WSJ

- [Narrator] Russian flags, photos of the Russian president (upbeat music) and children dancing to a patriotic Russian pop song. (nationalistic music) These images from Ukrainian schools and nurseries show the Kremlin's efforts to give children in the occupied territories a Russian identity. - The change at schools are one of the most obvious, simplest forms of Russification. - [Narrator] The Wall Street Journal examined videos and photos shared by Russian authorities to understand how Moscow is

trying to influence children in the occupied regions. (Vladimir speaking in Russian) - [Narrator] Russia has been pushing to incorporate four partially occupied Ukrainian regions into its legal, social and economic systems ever since it claimed to annex them in 2022. (people chanting in Russian) Education has been key to these efforts. Official posts show children in the occupied regions learning about the life of the composer of Russia's national anthem, celebrating Russian Science Day and dra

wing the annexed Crimean peninsula in the colors of the Russian flag. - They're pushing a very patriotic, pro-Russian curriculum. - The Wall Street Journal's Ian Lovett spoke with families whose children attended Russian-run schools in areas retaken by Ukrainian forces, as well as teachers who work there. They told him that schools under Russia's administration largely left Ukraine and its history out of the curriculum. (nationalistic music) - In the morning, at some schools, the kids have to si

ng the national anthem. There's now classes conducted exclusively in Russian. There is still, in some schools, Ukrainian language class but it's now taught as a foreign language. - [Narrator] The Journal found this document in a school in the Kharkiv region, outlining the goals of secondary education. One of them is to form a Russian civic identity among the students. Moscow's efforts to Russify Ukrainian children, were also documented in a report by the Yale School of Public Health. It accused

the Kremlin of relocating Ukrainian children to Russia and reeducating them to become pro-Russian. Following this report, the State Department said there was mounting evidence of the Kremlin's aims to deny and suppress Ukrainian identity, history, and culture. - The schools in occupied territory also have the goal of turning them into Russian children. I think they're hoping that in a generation, they won't have as many Ukrainians to fight against. - [Narrator] Moscow denied having forcefully re

located Ukrainian children, despite multiple official images showing Ukrainian orphans arriving in Russia. The Kremlin also denied having special programs aimed at the Russification of Ukrainian children and said it creates opportunities for all children in Russia to study their native languages. Ukrainian children are not only targets of Russian propaganda, they also became integral to it as official photos and videos show. - Schools themselves and the kids who attend them have been turned into

parts of Russian propaganda, which I think is mostly targeting Russian citizens inside of Russia, with the goal of showing them that these Ukrainian regions are eagerly accepting our liberation is what they call it. - [Narrator] Here, school children form the shape of a star and hold Russian flags to commemorate the Defender of the Fatherland Day, a holiday which celebrates Russia's armed forces. And these are letters children wrote to Russian soldiers on the front line in Ukraine. One letter s

hows a Russian flag and a tank, and wishes soldiers health, strength, and victories. Schools across Russia have placed more emphasis on patriotic education since the invasion of Ukraine began. But the consequences for children in occupied Ukrainian regions could be far reaching. - Even if the occupation doesn't last for forever in some of these areas, if they get six months or a year or two years with these kids, that's probably gonna have a very profound impact on the way those kids think about

Ukraine and Russia. (pensive music)