The Office of the Prosecutor General has submitted an indictment to the court against the Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, Andrey Omelchuk. As reported by the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Ruslan Kravchenko, this concerns one of the key organizers of the systematic destruction of Ukrainian education in the temporarily occupied territories, UNN reports.
Education cannot be a tool of war. But Russia has made it exactly that. The Office of the Prosecutor General has submitted an indictment to the court against the Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, Andrey Omelchuk. This concerns one of the key organizers of the systematic destruction of Ukrainian education in the temporarily occupied territories
According to him, Omelchuk is charged with complicity in changing the boundaries of the territory and the state border of Ukraine. But in essence, it is about something else. About an attempt to change not only borders, but also the consciousness of Ukrainian children.
Under his supervision, Ukrainian schools and universities were forcibly converted to Russian standards: re-registration of institutions, replacement of curricula, and the displacement of the Ukrainian language, history, and culture. We see how education is systematically being turned into a tool for the assimilation and militarization of children in the occupied territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions. Through so-called "re-education" camps, paramilitary movements like "Yunarmiya," "Movement of the First," and "Warrior," children are subjected to ideological brainwashing, taught how to handle weapons, and forced to swear allegiance to the aggressor state. This is not about education. This is about preparation for war
According to Russia's plans, by 2030, the number of participants in such movements is expected to grow by 250,000 annually – specifically at the expense of the 1.6 million children living under occupation. Some of them are being directly prepared for service in the armed forces of the Russian Federation, the Prosecutor General added.
From 2019 to 2025, at least 6,000 Ukrainian children have been recruited into "Yunarmiya." There are known cases where, upon reaching adulthood, they fought against their own state. We qualify these actions as war crimes. Juvenile prosecutors have already notified 18 members of an organized group who facilitated these processes of suspicion. In total, there are 30 suspects in this category, and two have already been convicted. I am convinced: everyone who tries to strip a child of their identity and turn them into a weapon will be held accountable. This is not just about the law. It is about the future of the country. And this is not the end. We continue our work