7/19/2025 — British intelligence: Russia moves to erase Ukrainian language in occupied schools

Kremlin pushes a sweeping Russification drive targeting Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts from September 2025.

A uniformed Russian “Don Cossack” leads a so-called initiation of schoolchildren into cadets in 2022 at the so-called Bolotov School in Russian-occupied Kadiivka — named after eliminated Russian warlord Valerii Bolotov. Photo: Realnaya Gazeta

Russia moves to erase Ukrainian language from schools in occupied Ukrainian territories, the UK Ministry of Defense reported in its 18 July 2025 intelligence update. A draft order from Russia’s Education Ministry outlines plans to eliminate Ukrainian from school curricula starting September 2025. The Ministry justifies the move by citing an allegedly “changed geopolitical situation.”

This policy deepens Moscow’s Russification drive, which seeks to erase Ukrainian culture and identity in occupied areas. The Kremlin’s goal is to make Ukrainians identify as Russians — a pattern seen throughout centuries of occupation.

Kremlin prepares to ban Ukrainian in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson schools

The draft order will primarily affect children in Russian-occupied areas of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts, where Ukrainian has remained a mandatory subject despite the occupation. Under the new plan, schools will no longer be allowed to teach Ukrainian as part of the core curriculum. The order also reportedly reduces the study of Ukrainian literature to a minimal level, further cutting off cultural education.

Voice of Ukraine