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In the schools that Russia opens in seized areas, children are systematically taught not mathematics or history, but obedience and loyalty to the aggressor state. Instead of Ukrainian identity, they are forced into a Russian one. Instead of critical thinking, they are given propaganda. “They told us that it is very important to cheer for your country,” a 15-year-old girl recalls. “They meant Russia. The country that invaded mine.” Classes begin with the Russian national anthem. Then come “Lessons of Courage,” where Russian soldiers are portrayed as heroes, and “Important Conversations,” which are pro-Kremlin discussions of current events. Children are forced to watch propaganda films and are photographed to document their “participation,” even when they try not to look at the screen. On the first day of school, teachers openly declared: “Ukraine will not be back. We are switching to Russian.” Schoolchildren are taken in groups to receive Russian passports, often without their parents’ consent. Parents are threatened: either your child attends a Russian school, or you risk losing your parental rights. “We started feeling that sooner or later they would come to our home,” she said. From first grade, children are enrolled in the “Young Army.” They draw tanks instead of flowers, march in schoolyards, and are taught to see war as something normal. “My children were taught to draw tanks instead of the usual things,” another mother said. “They were marching in the schoolyard.” Some children begin to believe the propaganda. “To be honest, when so many adults around me said Ukraine started the war, I started believing them,” a 16-year-old boy admitted. Not because they want to, but because sometimes it is the only way to survive where every adult repeats the same lies. Hundreds of teenagers escape the occupation every month. Through Russia, Belarus, days of travel, filtration interrogations, fear, and uncertainty. Often alone. Just to keep from losing their Ukrainian identity. Occupation is not only about weapons. It is about classrooms, notebooks, and young minds that are being rewritten. And this is one of the most horrifying war crimes of our time. 🔗 Read the full article via the link in bio: bit.ly/4qPOfvN. — Based on reporting by @MarichkaVareni1 for @nytimes. #BringKidsBack