Russia hires teachers to Russify occupied parts of Ukraine

Russia is offering financial rewards to teachers, coaches, and cultural workers to work in occupied parts of Ukraine as part of a broader effort to reshape local identity and instill loyalty to Moscow, according to a new report by the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA).

Under an expanded version of its “Zemskyi Uchitel” (Rural Teacher) program, the Kremlin is offering up to 2 million rubles (around $22,000) for five-year teaching stints in occupied regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, and 1 million rubles for positions in Crimea.

The initiative, formally launched in 2024, has already seen over 100 Russian teachers relocate to Crimea. Many arrived earlier under unofficial deployments, with some stationed in occupied territories as far back as 2022.

“These teachers don’t just teach — they reprogram,” said Kateryna Rashevska of Ukraine’s Regional Center for Human Rights. “They lead courses in Russian language, history, and even military prep, aiming to raise Ukrainian children as Russian patriots and future conscripts.”

Russia is also pressuring Ukrainian teachers in occupied areas to switch to Russian curricula. Those who resist face harsh penalties, including deportation. In one case, a school principal in Berdiansk was removed for refusing to operate under Russian standards, said Mariia Sulialina, head of Ukrainian NGO Almenda.

Teachers are now required to praise President Vladimir Putin in class and report students for “extremist behavior”—often defined as expressing pro-Ukrainian views.

Human rights experts say the campaign constitutes a form of colonization and violates international law, including Article 49 of the Geneva Convention and Article 8 of the Rome Statute.

Russia reportedly plans to send another 100 teachers to occupied regions in 2025. “These are not isolated efforts — they’re federally coordinated programs with a clear chain of command,” Rashevska emphasized. “And yet, the ICC still fails to prioritize colonization as a prosecutable war crime.”

Russia occupied one of Europe's largest lithium deposits in Donetsk Oblast

Russian forces have seized control of the village of Shevchenko in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, near one of the largest lithium ore deposits in Eastern Europe, Le Figaro reported.

Though the village appears unremarkable, its strategic value lies beneath the surface. Located just over 10 kilometers from Velyka Novosilka, Shevchenko sits near a deposit estimated to contain 1.2 million tonnes of lithium-rich ore, with concentrations exceeding 1.5%.

Lithium is a critical resource for modern technologies, especially batteries for electric vehicles, and its global demand has surged in recent years. Control over such a resource could give Russia leverage in key industrial supply chains.

Ukraine’s Southern front is collapsing under a rapid Russian advance

Russia has made record-breaking territorial gains in Ukraine this June, capturing 446 square kilometers in less than a month, according to DeepState analysts. The most rapid advances occurred in southern Donetsk Oblast, where Russian forces seized 135.9 square kilometers between June 1 and 26.

The offensive is concentrated west of Velyka Novosilka, where Russian troops are breaking through defensive lines between the villages of Oleksiivka and Zelenyi Hai. Ukrainian positions in this sector are reportedly crumbling under pressure.

Some Ukrainian units under the command group “Vuhledar” are allegedly issuing inaccurate reports, falsely claiming to hold positions that have already been lost.

Military analyst Julian Röpcke of Bild has also confirmed a Ukrainian defensive collapse in this area. If Russia maintains momentum, its troops could push north toward the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast border — a move that would threaten Ukrainian supply lines for defensive forces stationed north of Pokrovsk.

Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi reports that Russia has concentrated around 111,000 troops in the Pokrovsk direction — the largest single Russian grouping to date. Ukrainian defenders face serious manpower shortages in this sector, as Russia stretches the front, intensifies assaults, and deploys Shahed drones to exploit weaknesses.