Russia sending hundreds of teachers to Ukraine to offer ‘corrected’ education: report

Russia is reportedly offering teachers money, transportation and other resources to incentivize them to teach a “corrected” curriculum to Ukrainians in Russian-occupied territory.

The Washington Post reported Monday that close to 250 teachers have signed up to travel to the occupied areas, including the Luhansk and Donetsk territories.

Russia appears set on pushing its own version of history, quelling use of the Ukrainian language and using revised Russian textbooks that quash the idea of Ukraine as a sovereign state, the Post reported.

Russia’s education minister Sergei Kravtsov said late last month that Ukrainian education “must be corrected,” according to the newspaper.

This is the latest move in Russia’s concerted effort to strengthen its hold on Ukraine and delegitimize the invaded country. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently signed a new passport decree expanding a fast track to Russian citizenship for Ukrainians and introduced the Russian ruble as currency in occupied areas.

Russia has also instituted a “filtration” system, forcibly deporting as many as 2 million Ukrainians in Russian-occupied territory, which Secretary of State Antony Blinken called a war crime.

As part of the “filtration” process, many Ukrainians are coerced into signing legal agreements not to return to Ukraine, Blinken said in a statement condemning Russia’s actions last week. Ukrainian passports have been confiscated and families have been deliberately separated.

According to the Post report, Russia has also stifled Ukrainian media and taken over the cellular network in controlled areas, and begun efforts to replace Ukrainian infrastructure, like city signs, with Russia-branded versions.