Russia plans to remove Ukrainian language and literature education from the national school curriculum, including in occupied Ukrainian territories, the Kommersant business daily reported, citing a draft Education Ministry order.

The Education Ministry cited the “changed geopolitical situation” as the reason for its decision, according to Kommersant.

Ukrainian has until now been a mandatory offering for Ukrainian children at schools in the partially occupied Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions of Ukraine.

In other Russian regions and occupied Ukrainian territories, Ukrainian language lessons have been made available upon request by parents. In the 2023-2024 school year, these lessons were requested in annexed Crimea, the partially occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the republic of Bashkortostan.

Currently, students in regions where Ukrainian is taught study the language for a total of 736 hours from elementary through high school.