TRACKING FOREIGN STUDENTS FOR CLASSROOM CONFORMITY
New guidelines promulgated by education ministries in a number of Russia's regions have told local teachers to surveil foreign students for possible signs of "criminal tendencies." The instructions direct schoolteachers to more closely monitor the written work of foreign students and their participation in class discussions for indications of negative perceptions toward Russia's state symbols, history or values. In particular, the guidelines highlight the need to study the responses of foreign students to the "Important Conversations" lessons – a series on Russian patriotism instituted after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Teachers are expected to report students who visit websites with "shock content" or "destructive information," along with those who discuss political, religious or social themes openly, particularly if they voice "extreme opinions" or show "signs of intolerance." Teachers are expected to informally interview the children of foreign nationals individually and conduct anonymous surveys to develop an "objective picture." The stepped-up surveillance on foreign schoolchildren follows the introduction of a bill in the State Duma that would require foreigners to pay tuition to attend schools in Russia. (Meduza, August 13, 2025)
RUSSIA WORKS TO DIVIDE POLAND AND UKRAINE
Since the start of its war on Ukraine, Russia has steadily ramped up its hybrid warfare operations in, and gray zone activities against, Europe – targeting in particular nations that have significantly backed Kyiv against Moscow. Poland is one of them, and as a result the country has emerged as a major focal point for Russian hybrid war. For instance, the country already records around 300 Russian cyberattacks daily, making it the "most targeted country in cyberspace." Now, the Kremlin is attempting to sow divisions between Poland and Ukraine by other means as well. A new report from Polish broadcaster TVP World details how Russia's growing hybrid warfare operations include leveraging the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), which was linked to the World War II-era killings of Poles, to drive a wedge between the two nations.
As part of this effort, Russian operatives waved the UPA flag at a recent music concert, while the memorials of UPA victims were defaced with graffiti and pro-UPA flags. The Ukrainian embassy in the country has condemned the incidents, decrying them as "a provocation by Russian intelligence services aimed at creating tension between our nations." (TVP World, August 14, 2025)
INFORMATIONAL BLACKOUTS ACROSS RUSSIA
For the past few months, waves of communication blackouts have swept across Russia. The internet blackouts are allegedly aimed at disrupting and complicating Ukrainian drone attacks. But these disruptions have occurred even in the Far East and parts of Siberia – regions that have not been targeted by Ukraine to date. One such blackout, of "indefinite" duration, was recently announced in Crimea by local authorities. (Meduza, August 12, 2025)
A SHAMEFUL CATALOG
Since the start of its war on Ukraine, Russia has come in for international condemnation for its forcible seizure and relocation of children from territories under its control. The practice, however, is continuing apace. Russia's occupation government in Luhansk recently released a catalog of 294 Ukrainian children, offering them up for adoption. The database, which has been decried as tantamount to child trafficking by human rights groups, sorts the children by traits such as eye color, and lists character traits such as "obedient" or "calm."
The database describes the children as "orphans and children left without parental care." But it has a clear political purpose. According to Mykola Kuleba, CEO of the nonprofit Save Ukraine, most of the children held Ukrainian citizenship prior to Russian occupation. Some were orphaned from Russian strikes, while others were abducted and issued Russian identification documents. Kuleba decried this practice as a "slave catalog" from which one could "order" a child with a "single click."
The scope of the larger problem is immense. Since Russia's initial invasion in 2014, Ukraine has formally identified some 19,500 Ukrainian children that have been abducted and relocated. But Daria Herasymchuk, Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights, estimates that the real total could be much higher – from 200,000 to 300,000. (Kyiv Independent, August 7, 2025)