Ukrainian Prosecutor General's office says no Russian teachers detained in liberated territories
The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s office told Current Time that Russian teachers have not been detained on the territory of Kharkiv region that was liberated by Ukrainian troops.
"According to the Prosecutor General's office, Ukrainian law enforcement has not detained Russian teachers in the de-occupied territories of Kharkiv region," said Yuriy Belousov, head of the department for combating crimes committed during the armed conflict.
The TV channel's sources in the Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk regional prosecutor's offices also claim that no Russian teachers have been detained there.
Earlier, the detention of teachers from Russia in the newly-liberated territories of Ukraine was reported by the Ukrainian media. Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Honcharenko said that teachers who had come from Russia to teach local children had been detained in Kupyansk, Kharkiv region.
On September 12, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said that Russian teachers detained in the liberated territories could face up to 12 years in prison for violation of the laws and customs of war. She said that Ukrainian teachers who agreed to teach the Russian program could face the same term under the article on collaborationist activities. At the same time, she did not confirm that anyone had already been detained.
The Russian-controlled administration of the occupied part of Kharkiv region said that Russian teachers were not working in the region. The Russian Ministry of Education reported that the Russian teachers were on the territory controlled by Russian and self-proclaimed DNR and LNR forces. According to the head of the ministry, Sergey Kravtsov, teachers of schools in Kharkiv region who wished to leave the region went to Russia. He called the reports about the detention of teachers a fake.
On 13 September, Aleksandr Bastrykin, head of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, ordered that a criminal case be opened due to the fact that teachers teaching the Russian curriculum were being detained in Kharkiv region.