The numbers behind the war against the future. Not just schools, but a system of pressure. New data shows the scale of the problem that Ukraine has been warning about for years. In the 2025–2026 academic year, there are 1980 “Russian” schools operating in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, working according to Russian standards, and more than 582 thousand Ukrainian children are studying in them. This is not about isolated cases or a local system failure, but about a massive and deliberate restructuring of the educational space under Russia’s control.
But the most frightening thing in this story is not the statistics themselves, but what lies behind them. Through schools, the occupying power builds a mechanism of pressure in which children are gradually changed in terms of language environment, educational content, historical memory, and the very sense of belonging to Ukraine. In March 2026, in the analytical report of the Center “Almenda”, this is directly described as a policy of destroying the identity of children in the occupied territories.
For the Israeli reader, there are too many familiar signals here to consider this topic distant. When the blow is struck at children, at memory, at language, and at the upbringing of the next generation, it is no longer just a humanitarian crisis. It is an attempt to steal the future of a nation.
How exactly Ukrainian children are broken
Militarization instead of childhood
One of the key parts of this system is militarization. Children and teenagers in the occupied territories are drawn into structures like the “First Movement” and “Yunarmiya”, where instead of normal development, creativity, and free choice, they are imposed with a cult of loyalty, submission, and war. Ukrainian and international sources describing the report’s findings indicate that Russian authorities are accelerating the militarization of education, introducing ideological subjects, and embedding elements of state propaganda into school life.
This looks especially cynical because everything is presented under the guise of “upbringing”, “patriotism”, and “care for youth”. In reality, the child is gradually accustomed to the idea that their future should be connected not with Ukraine, but with the state that came to their land with war. And here it becomes clear: this is not about education as such, but about preparing a loyal generation for a foreign system.
Fear as an everyday norm
An equally important element is fear. In the occupied territories, school becomes not a place of choice, but a place of coercion. Parents find themselves under pressure, and teenagers are deprived of the opportunity to openly speak about their pro-Ukrainian position. Even maintaining an internal connection with their country becomes a risk there. This is also mentioned in the materials accompanying the “Almenda” report and in the stories of children who are later managed to be taken out of occupation.
Thus, an environment is built where silence becomes a way to survive. A child learns not to think freely, but to hide their feelings, beliefs, and memory in time. And this is already a blow not only to children’s rights but also to the very possibility of society to reclaim these children without severe consequences for their psyche.
That is why the topic of Ukrainian children in the occupied territories should not fall out of the international agenda. NAnovosti — Israel News | Nikk.Agency in such a conversation sounds not like a formality, but as part of a common effort not to let the world turn away from what is happening right now.
Why Save Ukraine is so important here
Who they are and what they do
Save Ukraine is a Ukrainian humanitarian organization founded in 2014. On its official website, it explains its mission as saving children, supporting families, and forming a strong generation capable of restoring the country’s future. After the start of the full-scale war, the organization became one of the most prominent structures engaged in evacuating civilians, returning Ukrainian children from occupation and from Russia, as well as their further rehabilitation.
In the context of this topic, Save Ukraine is important not as an abstract charity fund, but as an organization that deals with the most severe consequences of occupation in practice. It conducts rescue missions, helps return children home, accompanies families, provides temporary safety, and then helps children go through the path of recovery after experiencing pressure, isolation, ideological processing, and fear. On the Save Ukraine website, it is separately emphasized that it is about children who faced separation from families, militarization, persecution, and other forms of violence.
Save Ukraine:
https://www.saveukraineua.org/
That is why mentioning Save Ukraine in this topic carries special weight. This is not a story “about sympathy”, not a beautiful logo, and not a set of the right words. This is a structure that really pulls children out of the trap where they were tried to be deprived of home, memory, and a normal childhood.
Why this is a question of Ukraine’s future
On the organization’s website, messages about new rescue operations are regularly published.
At the end of March and the beginning of April 2026, Save Ukraine reported on new groups of children and teenagers who were managed to be taken out of occupation and deportation. This shows that the problem has not remained in the past and has not been reduced to isolated cases — it continues, and the fight for each child is literally happening now.
Therefore, the issue of returning Ukrainian children cannot be perceived only as a humanitarian mission. It is a question of whether Ukraine will be able to maintain a connection with the next generation, which the enemy is trying to rewrite for itself. Every child who manages to break out of this system is not just a saved fate. It is also a blow to the very logic of occupation, which is built on the calculation that over time children will forget who they are, where they are from, and to which country they belong.
And that is why this needs to be spoken about loudly. Not only in Kyiv. Not only in the human rights community. Not only in reports.
This should be known in Israel, in Jewish communities, in international institutions, in the media, and in political circles. Because here the war is not only for territories. Here the war is for memory, for identity, and for the future of an entire generation of Ukrainian children.