Schoolchildren in occupied Ukraine forced to glorify 'SVO' fighters
Schoolchildren in occupied territories will be required to prove in the textbook 'History of Our Region' that 'the feats of the fighters of the special military operation are worthy of heroes of the Great Patriotic War.' The Ministry of Education issued the state textbook 'History of Our Region.'
Consensus
- A new history textbook titled 'History of Our Region: Donbass and Novorossia' has been approved for use in schools on occupied Ukrainian territories.
- The textbook is intended for students in grades 5–7 and will be distributed starting September 1, 2026.
- The textbook presents the 'special military operation' (SVO) as a continuation of the Great Patriotic War and compares its participants to WWII heroes.
- Students are required to analyze the painting 'Heroes Z' and argue that the actions of SVO fighters are worthy of WWII heroes.
- The textbook attributes the collapse of the USSR to Ukrainian nationalists and claims they received foreign funding to promote anti-Soviet and anti-Russian sentiments.
- The textbook states that Ukrainian nationalists did not receive support in Donbass and Novorossia.
- The textbook mentions Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky only once, referring to him as a 'former KVN actor' and claiming that the 'aggressiveness of the Kyiv regime increased' after his election.
- The textbook cites UN data on 14,500 deaths from 2014 to 2022, labeling all as victims of 'Kyiv's aggression', without specifying that approximately 4,500 were Ukrainian soldiers.
- The textbook discusses the 'imposition' of the Ukrainian language in the region.
- The textbook omits or downplays the 1991 independence referendum, in which a majority of voters in Donetsk and Luhansk regions supported Ukrainian independence.
Points of divergence
- The textbook will be distributed starting September 1, but the exact year is not specified. — tg_moscowtimes_ru
- The textbooks were included in the federal list on August 9, 2026, and published on the Ministry of Education website the day before. — novaya_eu
- The textbooks were included in the federal list on August, 9, and appeared on the Ministry of Education website on August 11. — tg_svobodnieslova
- The textbook refers to 'heroes of Ukraine' after 2014 as 'servants of Hitler'. — tg_tvrain
- The textbook refers to 'heroes of Ukraine' after the 2014 conflict as 'servants of Hitler'. — tvrain
- The textbook includes a section stating that the course ends with the study of the region's return to Russia. — tg_sotavisionmedia
Coverage (6 sources)
- Schoolchildren on occupied Ukrainian territories will be forced to praise the 'deeds of SVO fighters' — The Moscow Times
- Schoolchildren from 'new regions' will be forced to prove in class that 'the deeds of SVO fighters deserve heroes of WWII' — SOTAvision
- In a textbook for occupied territories, children are asked to prove that participants of the SMO are 'worthy of WWII heroes' — Новая газета Европа
- In a history textbook for students on occupied territories, they will be forced to prove that the deeds of SVO fighters are worthy of heroes... — Дождь (Telegram)
- In the history textbook for students of occupied territories, they will be forced to prove that "the deeds of SVO fighters are worthy of the heroes of WWII" — Дождь
- In the textbook 'History of Our Region' for occupied territories, students will be forced to prove that 'the deeds of SVO fighters deserve... — Вёрстка