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The Russian “Country for Children” charitable organization continues to facilitate the transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia through its “Day After Tomorrow” youth program. Country for Children announced on September 8 the start of a new shift of its Day After Tomorrow Program and highlighted the stories of two girls from occupied Horlivka, Donetsk Oblast, and occupied Melitopol, Zaporizhia Oblast, who are taking part in the program. Russian national airline Aeroflot is sponsoring the program, under which Country for Children has brought 100 teenagers from occupied Ukraine to the Berezovaya Roshcha boarding house and sanatorium on the outskirts of Moscow City. “Day After Tomorrow” brands itself as a project for the “social and psychological adaptation” of children from occupied Ukraine. ISW has previously reported on the role of Country for Children and Day After Tomorrow in the deportation and forced removal of Ukrainian children to various education and rehabilitation programs elsewhere in occupied Ukraine or in the Russian Federation, and has assessed that Russian officials use such education and rehabilitation programs to Russify Ukrainian children.
Russian officials provided updates on the number of Ukrainian children who attended Russian summer camp programs in occupied Ukraine and in Russia, underscoring the scale of Russia’s forced removal and deportation campaign intended to Russify Ukrainian children. Russian Minister of Education Sergei Kravtsov visited occupied Donetsk Oblast on September 10 and met with Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) Head Denis Pushilin. Kravtsov claimed that over 32,000 children from occupied Donetsk Oblast took part in Russian summer programs, including health, sports, and recreation camps and “University Shifts,” a program in which Ukrainian teenagers study at Russian secondary education institutions. In April, Russian First Deputy Education Minister Alexander Bugayev announced Russia’s plans to send around 53,000 Ukrainian children to summer camps in occupied Ukraine and in Russia over the course of summer 2025. ISW has long assessed that Russia’s transfer of Ukrainian children to summer camps in Russia constitutes illegal deportation because the underlying goal is to Russify Ukrainian children. ISW has observed ample evidence, including from Russian sources, confirming that Russia uses summer camps to propagate Russian identity and ideology amongst Ukrainian children, and often uses such summer camps to expose Ukrainian children to hyper-militaristic Russian patriotic ideals. Kravstov’s statements highlight the scale at which this Russification is occurring.
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