- Russia will force kids to learn about the government's justification for its attack on Ukraine.
- The Ministry of Education said schoolchildren will be forced to watch a broadcast on March 3.
- It's the latest example of Russia's use of baseless claims as a means of justifying the war.
As the West widely condemns Russia for what it deems is an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Russia is planning to force schoolchildren to watch a broadcast about the government's justification for the Ukrainian invasion.
Russia's Ministry of Education said in a notice on Wednesday that schoolchildren will be forced to watch a broadcast on March 3 about the "necessity" of a "liberation mission" in Ukraine.
The notice said that children will be forced to learn about why Russia believes NATO seemingly poses a danger, and why Russia felt like it needed to intervene in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region.
According to multiple reports, school systems across Russia have been distributed information directing teachers to instruct their students on justifications for Russia's invasion of Ukraine last week.
Manuals with lesson plans given to some schools claim Ukraine did not exist until the 20th century and it has been run since 2014 by "an American puppet regime," Al Jazeera reported on Wednesday.
The manuals also claim there was a genocide in eastern Ukraine, which led Russia to conduct a "special peacekeeping operation," according to Al Jazeera.
US and NATO officials warned for weeks leading up to Russia's eventual invasion that President Vladimir Putin would create a pretext as a justification for an attack.
Among other baseless justifications for war, Putin had claimed a genocide was happening in eastern Ukraine, and claimed Ukraine was not a real country.
Russian English-language news site Meduza reported that the government distributed information to schools instructing them to teach that Russia's war against Ukraine is not, in fact, a war.
Meduza reported that the materials claim Russia is not conducting airstrikes on civilian populations in Ukraine, and that innocent people don't face any threat.
Evidence on the ground suggests otherwise. Ukrainian officials said dozens of civilians have been killed in Russian strikes since the war started, with entire neighborhoods being razed.
The US State Department also accused Russia on Monday of "widespread" human rights abuses in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court's prosecutor said on Monday that he will seek approval to investigate Russia for possible "war crimes and crimes against humanity" in Ukraine.