Over two years of full-scale war against Ukraine, Russia has deported more than 20,000 Ukrainian children for "re-education"

Ukraine (Svidomi) — Russians have deported more than 20,000 Ukrainian children for "re-education" under the "University Sessions" programme, according to research by the Almenda Centre of Civil Education.

"University Sessions" is one of the projects of educational programmes used by Russia to form the so-called "Russian identity" in children from the temporarily occupied parts of the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

"The danger of this project lies in its hidden goal — the re-education of Ukrainian children in the temporarily occupied territories [of Ukraine] and the destruction of their Ukrainian identity", Almenda says.

The main target audience of the programme is children aged 12 to 17.

The responsibility for this crime, which is committed under the auspices of "career guidance", is on Russian President Vladimir Putin, the relevant ministries (Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science and Higher Education), as well as Russian higher education institutions.

"Almenda has identified 81 Russian universities where the so-called University Sessions are implemented. Forty-five of these universities actively cooperate with international partners, including educational institutions in the EU, the US, Asia, China, Japan and Türkiye. In addition, the international academic mobility programme Erasmus+ cooperates with the universities involved in implementing University Sessions".

"The programme ["University Sessions"] lasts ten days and should consist of six mandatory modules: educational, cultural and patriotic, super-professional, sports, excursions, and recreation," the study says.

Local occupation administrations are helping Russia to involve children in the project. It is they who put pressure on schools by sending out orders on the "required" number of participants, timing, and directions of the transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia.