Russian officials continue to advertise programs that deport and Russify Ukrainian children and teenagers. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin held a meeting with Russian deputy prime ministers on April 14 and discussed the “University Shifts” program—a program that takes children aged 14–17 from occupied Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson to Russian university campuses and summer camps for “educational” experiences. Mishustin noted that over 2,000 Ukrainian children will participate in “University Shifts” in Summer 2025 and reported that the Russian government has allocated 150 million rubles ($1.8 million) to funding this program. Mishustin also emphasized that Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the “University Shifts” program his blessing with the acknowledgement that it exposes Ukrainian children to Russian values, traditions, and culture—suggesting that this is one of many programs that the Russian government is using to Russify Ukrainian youth. The Russian Ministry of Education and Science and the “Movement of the First” military-patriotic youth organization jointly founded the “University Shifts” program in 2022 and has since facilitated the deportation and Russification of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children—10.6 thousand in 2022, 10.7 thousand in 2023, and over 12 thousand in 2023. “University Shifts” also likely prepares Ukrainian teenagers for eventual admission into Russian universities, which further separates them from their Ukrainian identities, families, and homes and further integrates them into the Russian Federation.
Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) Deputy Chairperson Larisa Tolstykina also advertised the “Cultural Map 4+85” program on April 11, noting that this program will take over 3,000 Ukrainian children from occupied Donetsk Oblast to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, and Kazan between April and October 2025 to participate in “cultural exchanges.” “Cultural Map 4+85” brands itself as a “cultural and educational” program for Ukrainian children, but emphasizes that its goal is to “become an effective mechanism for the socio-cultural rehabilitation and integration of children into a single Russian society.” ISW previously assessed that Russia is deporting Ukrainian children and exposing them to pro-Russian indoctrination using multiple schemes, including educational programs such as “Cultural Map 4+85” and “University Shifts.”
Key Takeaways:
- Russian officials continue to advertise programs that deport and Russify Ukrainian children and teenagers.
- The Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union (UHHRU) formally lodged a complaint against the Russian Federation at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) over the issue of Russia’s forced passportization and adoption of Ukrainian children.
- Zaporizhia Oblast occupation authorities appear to be cracking down against Ukrainian employees of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), using fabricated criminal cases to punish them for pro-Ukrainian sentiment.
- Russia is using an administrative “road safety” law to force residents of occupied Ukraine to obtain Russian citizenship.
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[ISW] 러시아 점령 업데이트, 2025년 4월 21일
[ISW] 러시아 점령 업데이트, 2025년 4월 3일