Russia holds up to 20,000 Ukrainian civilians captive — one of the newest is a teacher who stayed to care for her elderly mother
Up to 20,000 Ukrainian civilians remain held in Russian captivity, including teachers who are being replaced by Russian educators used to spread propaganda in occupied schools.
Russia is reportedly holding up to 20,000 Ukrainian civilians in captivity across occupied territories. Among the most recently detained is a teacher who had remained in her occupied village specifically to look after her 83-year-old mother.
Teachers targeted
Accounts indicate that Ukrainian teachers in occupied areas are being singled out for detention by Russian occupation authorities. Once removed, these educators are being replaced with teachers brought in from Russia.
A tool for propaganda
The Russian educators sent to fill these positions are reportedly used to push Kremlin-aligned propaganda narratives onto students in occupied schools, effectively reshaping the local education system to serve Russian political messaging rather than an independent Ukrainian curriculum.
The case of the teacher detained after choosing to stay behind for her mother's sake highlights a broader pattern facing civilians in occupied territory: those who remain for personal or family reasons can become targets for arrest. With an estimated 20,000 civilians held captive overall, the scale of detentions points to a systematic practice across Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine, one that extends beyond military personnel to ordinary residents, including educators who once served their local communities.
