Vladimir Putin Bribing Ukrainians In Occupied Cities $167 To Send Children To Russian Schools

The Kremlin in Russia announced on Wednesday that parents in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine who send their children to school will receive a one-time monetary payment to do so, as Russia attempts to change the local curriculums to reflect the country’s perspective.

Russia will reportedly give a one-time payment of 10,000 rubles, or US$167, to Ukrainian parents who send their children to Russian-controlled schools in the Russian-occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv and Kherson, according to Business Insider.

The announcement comes as reports from the press claim that Moscow is forcing schools and teachers to adopt a Russia-centric curriculum at the risk of losing their jobs and experiencing retaliation from troops stationed in occupied Ukraine, the Guardian reported.

Teachers and schools in occupied Ukraine were reportedly given a document to sign certifying that they would be following Russia’s curriculum instead of Ukraine’s, causing many teachers in places like Zaporizhzhia to either leave or be forced out due to their non-compliance.

“Math, physics, biology and chemistry curriculum in Russia don't carry propaganda, so they are left alone, at least for now,” a teacher in occupied Ukraine said.

Parents and teachers who refuse to cooperate with the new curriculum and policies are being threatened to comply, with schools who have agreed to follow the new policies forcing a 40,000 ruble fine to parents, or even loss of custody of children in some cases.

“Locals don't want to send their children to these schools, but they are scared.” history teacher Serhiy Shyshkovskiy said.

While Ukraine has amended the criminal code to give teachers and schools who collaborate with Russians up to three years for “propaganda in education institutions with the goal of assisting the Russian army,” Ukraine’s education ombudsman Sergii Gorbachov believes that there should be leniency for some cases where a teacher is forced to follow under duress.

“We must make a very clear distinction whether the person was forced to work under pressure or even life threat, or did they voluntarily collaborate, or was it even their initiative to collaborate,” he said.

“Because when a person’s life is under threat and they must keep working, we have to remember the priority and value of human’s life. For instance, if a person quits their job because their unwillingness to collaborate there shouldn’t be a record in their labor book.”