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Russian textbooks praising President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine are an attempt to encourage “self-sacrifice” among schoolchildren, experts have warned. In September, Russia rolled out new history textbooks to schools that claim Ukraine is an “ultranationalist state” being used as a “battering ram” by the United States to “destroy Russia”. One chapter claims Ukrainian membership of NATO could have led to a catastrophic war and “possibly the end of civilisation” that Russia had to prevent. Jaroslava Barbieri, academic and author of dozens of articles on Russian affairs, said the textbooks and lessons instructing children on how to use drones were all part of a wider plan. “Patriotic education is nothing new,” Ms Barbieri, doctoral researcher at the University of Birmingham, told The Independent. “But it has acquired new momentum under Putin. It is an attempt to indoctrinate the next generation, by equating patriotism to self-sacrifice.” The textbook, which devotes 28 pages to Russia’s war in Ukraine, is also intended to convince children Russia has “always been surrounded by enemies,” Ms Barbieri said. “It is about militarising the youth, making them believe they have always been surrounded by constant enemies and that they should serve the needs of the state,” she said. In July, the Russian Defence Ministry approved plans for new lessons instructing schoolchildren on how to operate combat drones, assault rifles and hand grenades. Deputy Minister of Defence Ruslan Tsalikov said the programme will include basic operating information and methods to counter enemy weapons, including UAVs. Ms Barbieri said this was evidence the Kremlin had recognised the changing nature of warfare and Ukraine’s extensive use of commercial drones – as well as contributing to a militarised society. Katie Stallard, Global Fellow at the Wilson Center think tank, said Putin has always been obsessed by history and the textbooks reflect his desire to have a firmer grip on Russia’s historical narratives. “Mr Putin has poured government money into patriotic education and other so-called patriotic initiatives during his two decades in power,” she told the Independent. “It has long been clear he was not just seeking to promote a glorious, idealised version of the Russian past, but to limit challenges to the official narratives so he can consolidate power.” Between 2016 and 2020, Russia’s federal budget allocated about £18.5m to military-patriotic education, research shows. The implementation of military-patriotic education is guided by the military, schools and clubs, research suggests. “Control of the past has become a political priority as Mr Putin attempts to consolidate power in the present, particularly since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” Ms Stallard added. But so far, the Kremlin’s indoctrination tactics have not led to “queues of would-be soldiers lining up outside recruitment offices”, Ms Stallard said. “In fact, the opposite has happened, with the authorities tightening controls to make it harder for citizens to avoid military service,” she added. “There is little evidence that this will make much difference to the Russian war effort in the short term by generating an outpouring of public support.” In February 2022, an estimated 300,000 people fled Russia when its military invaded Ukraine. This number increased to about 700,000 by the end of the year, some estimates suggest. “Tighter education doesn’t mean Mr Putin will succeed and people will unquestionably believe what they read in their school history books. “The Soviet approach did not succeed either. It was a population skilled in understanding the correct sentiments to voice in public, while voicing their dissatisfaction in private,” Ms Stallard said. Read More Russian students are returning to school, where they face new lessons to boost their patriotism The Ukraine war, propaganda-style, is coming to Russian movie screens. Will people watch? Kremlin rushes out schoolbook praising Putin’s Ukraine invasion

Vladimir Putin’s forces launched overnight drone and missile attacks that targeted Ukraine’s eastern and southern parts as the war-hit country’s officials ordered the evacuation of an infrastructure site that was targeted. Ukraine’s air force said Russia’s forces launched a swarm of Shahed drones from Crimea and the Black Sea in an overnight offensive on Saturday. One of the strikes targeted an infrastructure site in the Vinnytsia region as the air force warned of the threat of ballistic missiles. Authorities asked people to stay in shelters and said a general evacuation was not yet necessary apart from the immediate area where the strike occurred. “At this time there is no need for a general evacuation, apart from the immediate area around the site of the hit,” said Vasyl Polishchuk, head of administration for the town of Kalynivka, according to the town’s website. “Attack UAVs are moving in the north-west direction. A threat to the Vinnytsia region. Stay in shelters!” it said on its official Telegram channel. The officials did not mention what target was struck and what weapon had been used. However, regional governor Serhiy Borzov said the hit was made on an unspecified infrastructure site, a term used by Ukrainian officials to refer to facilities involved in power generation and other industries. The governor announced an air raid alert at 1.10am local time and within an hour, he reported a strike. An initial air raid warning for an anticipated strike was announced at 11.17pm in western Ukraine’s Vinnytsia, Cherkasy and Kirovohrad oblasts. Ukrainian air forces issued more than 40 air raid alerts on its Telegram channels for Donetsk, Odesa, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv regions among several other cities as Russian forced launched a massive wave of attacks overnight. Air-raid alerts and warnings were issued throughout the night. It warned of “the threat of using ballistic weapons in areas where the alarm has been declared”. “Don’t Ignore Airborne Alarms! Head for cover,” read another alert around 6.30am. On Friday evening, the air force of Ukraine’s armed forces said several groups of drones were fired from the Crimean peninsula. Read More Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin orders former Wagner boss to control ‘volunteer units’ and rejoin frontline Ukraine urges other nations to boycott playing Russia after Uefa decision Russia is set to avoid a full ban from the 2024 Paralympics in Paris Putin recruits former Wagner commander ‘Grey Hair’ Troshev to oversee Ukraine mercenaries Ukraine ‘hits power substation’ in drone attacks on Russian border regions