600,000 Ukrainian children trapped in occupied territories: over 40,000 still enrolled in Ukrainian schools

Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, states this, as reported by Radio Svoboda.

He stated that Russians in the temporarily occupied territories have introduced compulsory education according to Russian educational standards. Therefore, children who want to receive a Ukrainian education are studying online.

“We have documented problems with access to education. Children are forced to study simultaneously in two education systems. One child spends more than 50 hours a week on education,” said the ombudsman.

Lubinets also recalled that the state has created a network of educational centers to help applicants from temporarily occupied territories enroll in Ukrainian educational institutions. According to him, 1,608 applicants used these centers in 2023, and more than 11,000 did so in 2024.

• Earlier, it was reported that in the temporarily occupied Tavriisk in the Kherson region, Russians are forcing children to draw postcards and write words of support for Russian military personnel.