Presentation of the analytical report “Education in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. Political aspect”

This analytical report was jointly prepared by the Eastern Human Rights Group and the Institute for Strategic Research and Security in cooperation with Konrad Adenauer Foundation Representative Office in Ukraine. It systematizes information on the transformation of the education system in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine since 2014, with an emphasis on militarization, ideological influence, and religious justification of the occupation policy. The research is based on verified open sources, educational materials, regulatory documents, as well as on the testimonies of eyewitnesses and informants who are in the temporarily occupied territories. The analysts recorded the facts of the suppression of Ukrainian identity, the introduction of mandatory military disciplines in schools, the creation of cadet and Cossack corps, and the use of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate to form obedience, aggressive thinking, and a cult of violence among young people. The report pays special attention to the mechanism of forming the image of the enemy—Ukraine, the EU countries, the USA and NATO—as an “existential threat” that “must be fought”. These ideas are systematically implemented through school programs, educational activities and extracurricular military-patriotic clubs. The purpose of the study is to record violations of children’s rights and the norms of international humanitarian law, demonstrate the risks for the future reintegration of the education system, and create an evidence base to hold accountable those involved in ideological and military influence on children under occupation.