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Russia Sends Ukrainian Children From Temporarily Occupied Donetsk to Remote Sakhalin
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Russia has transferred a group of Ukrainian schoolchildren from the occupied town of Shakhtarsk in Donetsk region to Sakhalin Island under the pretext of “university exchange programs,” according to the Center for National Resistance (CNS) on November 23.
According to CNS, a Ukrainian government-affiliated body, the Russian authorities have launched a campaign to transport children from temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine to Russia’s Far East regions, particularly Sakhalin. The CNS claims that the initiative is aimed at cultural assimilation and demographic manipulation.
The CNS stated that the children were selected based on specific criteria, including high academic performance, participation in pro-Kremlin youth groups, and family ties to Russian military personnel.
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“Russia brought a group of schoolchildren from Shakhtarsk to Sakhalin region under the guise of a ‘university session,’” the Center noted in a statement, adding that the initiative is “part of a structured colonial policy.”
Russian state media reportedly presented the trip as a form of educational exposure, introducing children to local universities and career prospects on the island. They also reported that the students attended “integration sessions” and were familiarized with the “Sakhalin mentality.”
The children, described by CNS as “handpicked for loyalty,” were given campus tours, cultural excursions, and career guidance sessions. Russian organizers reportedly framed the visit as a reward for the children of service members and a “chance to see their future.”
The CNS underlined that this effort goes beyond education. “This is not an educational tour, nor a leisure camp,” the Center stated. “It is a deliberate effort to extract children from Ukraine’s cultural space and embed them in Russia’s demographic and educational environment.”
The Center also highlighted that Sakhalin and the neighboring Kuril Islands have long struggled with population decline, economic stagnation, and youth outmigration. According to CNS, this makes them strategic targets for relocation efforts.
Earlier in November, Ukraine’s Centre for National Resistance warned that Russia had launched a so-called “Siberian Development Program” to facilitate the forced relocation of Ukrainian civilians from occupied territories.
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