- [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 drawing 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 sing 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 relocated 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 shows 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)