Russian Teachers Working in Occupied Territories – Photos and Data Released by Ukrainian Intelligence

Ukrainian Intelligence Identifies Russian Teachers Promoting Kremlin Propaganda in Occupied Territories

Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence has identified ten Russian educators who relocated to occupied Ukrainian territories as part of Moscow’s campaign to indoctrinate Ukrainian children with Russian propaganda, according to a report published on the War & Sanctions portal.

These teachers have moved to temporarily occupied regions in Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, and Kherson as part of the Kremlin’s “Zemsky Teacher” program. Intelligence officials describe the initiative as a deliberate strategy to create a controlled educational environment that aims to erase Ukrainian identity among schoolchildren and replace it with Russian nationalist ideology.

The Russian government has designated these occupied Ukrainian regions as “priority areas” for the program, offering substantial financial incentives to participating teachers. Those who relocate to these territories receive compensation payments of 2 million rubles (approximately $25,000), double the amount offered for relocation to other regions within Russia.

While financial motivation plays a significant role in recruitment, intelligence officials note that some participants are driven by ideological commitment to Russia’s imperial ambitions. One such example is Tatyana Yuelaborodova, a Russian language and literature teacher who moved from Russia’s far eastern Khabarovsk Territory to the village of Komyshuvate in the Mariupol district. According to intelligence findings, she relocated specifically to be “closer to her husband,” who is actively fighting against Ukrainian forces.

The identified Russian educators have been placed in strategic positions across educational institutions in occupied territories. The list includes Ilona Ilyina, appointed as an “advisor to the director of education” at a school in Melitopol district; Oleh Sladkevych, who allegedly serves as the director of a school in Horlivka; and Yulia Filonenko, installed as a “researcher” at the Tokmak Museum of Local Lore.

Other teachers on the list include Lyudmyla Leus, a history teacher in Starobeshevo; Oksana Bulatova, a primary school teacher in Volnovakha district; Oleksiy Vershinin, who teaches mathematics in Novoselivka; Yelyzaveta Mikhenko, a primary school teacher in the Vilnyanska school; Mykhailo Ivanyushchenko, allegedly a physical education teacher in Novotroitsk; and Oleksandra Sidorova, who teaches Russian language and literature in Volnovakha.

Educational occupation has become a critical component of Russia’s broader strategy to consolidate control over Ukrainian territories. By replacing Ukrainian educational standards with Russian curriculum, the occupying authorities aim to shape a new generation detached from their Ukrainian identity and loyal to Moscow.

This educational campaign parallels other Russification efforts in occupied regions, including the imposition of Russian administrative structures, currency, and legal frameworks. Such practices have been widely condemned by international organizations as violations of international humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit an occupying power from forcing ideological changes on occupied populations.

Ukrainian authorities have consistently warned about the long-term psychological impact of such propaganda on children in occupied areas, describing it as part of a systematic campaign of cultural erasure that constitutes a war crime. The Defense Intelligence of Ukraine continues to document these activities as evidence of Russia’s broader campaign to undermine Ukrainian sovereignty.