Russia Develops a “Re-Education Manual” for Ukrainian Children in Occupied Territories — Save Ukraine Analysis
Russia has developed new “methodological guidelines” for working with children and youth in the temporarily occupied regions of Ukraine. Despite being presented as a tool for “preventing extremism,” the document is, in reality, a detailed manual for ideological indoctrination aimed at suppressing Ukrainian identity and shaping loyalty to the occupation regime.
Source: Save Ukraine
Russia’s New Manual: A Blueprint for Indoctrinating Ukrainian Children
Save Ukraine reports that the Russian Federation has produced a large policy document titled “Methodological Recommendations on the Prevention of Extremism…” It is formally described as a guide to “preventing radicalization among youth.”
However, its content reveals a systematic plan to control, manipulate and forcibly “re-educate” Ukrainian children in the occupied parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
1. Children Interested in Ukraine Are Labeled “Dangerous”
The manual instructs Russian-installed teachers and administrators to track teenagers who:
read Ukrainian or Western media,
support the Ukrainian Armed Forces,
ask “uncomfortable questions” in class,
post anti-war or anti-Putin comments online.
Such children are to be placed under individual “preventive supervision.”
2. Propaganda Instead of Education
The recommendations include:
restricting access to historical materials about World War II,
promoting the myth of the “Great Patriotic War,”
presenting Ukrainian national movements as “neo-Nazism.”
Ukrainian children under occupation are to be fed a falsified historical narrative, with Russia framed as their only “civilizational anchor.”
3. Ukrainian Regions Described as “Nests of Nationalists”
The manual portrays the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions as “full of Ukrainian nationalists” who have resisted Russian influence since 2014.
Any expression of Ukrainian identity is labeled a threat that must be “neutralized.”
4. Total Surveillance of Children
The document calls for:
monitoring social media accounts,
checking children’s phones,
creating “social passports” for each child,
documenting every “deviation from the norm,”
exerting pressure on families who maintain a pro-Ukrainian position.
Even supporting Ukraine or wanting to return home is classified as “extremism.”
5. History Turned Into a Weapon
In several sections of the PDF (pp. 14–17, 22–26, 31–35), Russian authors describe:
the Ukrainian national revival as “the root of neo-Nazism,”
the Cyril and Methodius Brotherhood as “the forerunners of terrorism,”
the modern Ukrainian military as “radical formations.”
This distorted narrative is intended to intimidate children and justify the occupation.
6. Demonization of “Azov” and the Ukrainian Military
The manual repeats long-debunked propaganda claims about the “neo-Nazi nature” of the Azov Regiment.
Its goal is to create a fear-based image of “the enemy,” distancing children psychologically from Ukraine.
7. The Manual’s Real Purpose: Erasing Ukrainian Identity
The materials demonstrate a systematic state policy aimed at:
Russifying children,
erasing Ukrainian culture,
preparing teenagers for service in occupation structures.
This constitutes a grave violation of international law, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
8. Save Ukraine’s Position
Save Ukraine works daily to rescue children whom Russia attempts to isolate, intimidate, or detach from their identity. The organization helps minors evacuate, receive rehabilitation and return to safe environments where their identity and dignity are protected.
Conclusion
Russia’s newly developed “methodical guidelines” are not simply educational recommendations.
They form part of a broader ideological system aimed at destroying Ukrainian identity in the occupied territories. Ukrainian children are subjected to total state control designed to reshape their worldview, historical memory and national belonging.
By implementing this system, Russia violates international norms and commits systemic crimes against children.
