How Russia Re-Educates Ukrainian Children Under Occupation: Donetsk, Mariupol, Crimea. Film Screening and Discussion

DocuDays UA International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival

June 11, 2025

The Reckoning Project, together with Docudays, will host a screening and discussion of the film "Children of the Occupation: Donetsk, Mariupol, Crimea" at the 2025 Docudays UA International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival.

TRP researchers have collected testimonies from young people who grew up in temporarily occupied territories—sharing their experiences of life under Russian rule, re-education programs, militarisation, and forced displacement. These stories formed the basis of the documentary, which premiered on January 31, 2025, on Current Time TV.

Over the past year, the Reckoning Project team has documented more than 200 testimonies from participants or witnesses of this process. Many were submitted to Ukrainian and international law enforcement bodies and were the basis for over a hundred journalistic pieces in dozens of countries worldwide.

According to Ukrainian authorities, Russia has deported at least 19,500 Ukrainian children, and more than 1.5 million continue to live under occupation, where they face regular ideological pressure. The discussion will explore:

• How does Russia instil “Russian identity” in Ukrainian children, and what are the long-term consequences of this process?

• What challenges will Ukraine face after the de-occupation of its territories?

• How can the documented testimonies help restore justice in the future?

Speakers:

Viktoriia Novikova, Senior Researcher, The Reckoning Project

Yurii Shylov, Director of the film

Peter Pomerantsev, Executive Editor, The Reckoning Project (online)

Kareem Asfari, Legal Analyst, The Reckoning Project (online)

Maksym Demydenko, Co-founder of War Archive

Moderator:

Maksimas Milta, Head of The Reckoning Project’s Office in Ukraine

Organisers: 

The Reckoning Project & NGO Docudays