Students and young people from the Transnistrian region took part this year in military-patriotic education programs organized in the Russian Federation, according to the Promo-LEX report on the situation of human rights on the left bank of the Nistru. The association draws attention to the fact that, after 2022, the discourse about “defending historical truth” has become an important component of the patriotic education promoted in Russia and in the occupied territories of the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, and Georgia, reports IPN.

According to the report, from June 23 to July 13, a group of students from the Transnistrian region participated in the international program “Circle of Friends”, organized at the “Orlyonok” Children’s Center in the Russian Federation, which is included by the European Union on the list of entities subject to sanctions.

According to the reasoning of the EU decision, the institution organizes programs for minors from the occupied Ukrainian territories, promotes Russian state narratives, and carries out military-patriotic education activities and meetings with combatants. The EU believes that these actions contribute to the forced assimilation and indoctrination of Ukrainian minors.

Promo-LEX mentions that, for three weeks, in the same center, the group of students from the Transnistrian region studied the Russian language and participated in activities dedicated to the culture, history, and geography of the Russian Federation. The Association emphasizes that last year the possibilities of expanding the participation of children from the Transnistrian region in such programs were discussed, within the International Forum “Formula of the Future”, held in Kazan, Russia.

On the other hand, in the academic year 2026-2027, 127 children were enrolled in the two military educational institutions for minors in the Transnistrian region. Of these, 65 were admitted to the Suvorov military school in Tiraspol, and 62 – to the cadet school in Bender, where approximately half of the new students are girls. In the previous year, the two institutions enrolled 120 children. According to Promo-LEX, some of the students come from vulnerable families and boarding schools.

The Promo-LEX report mentions that in these two institutions, children are being prepared for subsequent integration into the power and security structures of the regime in Tiraspol and even of the Russian Federation. As evidence, there are the information published in February 2026 in the press from the Transnistrian region, according to which, several former students of the Suvorov school were active in the Russian military structures.

The educational process in the two institutions largely replicates the conditions and discipline of military life. From the age of 11, children wear camouflage uniforms, live in barracks-like conditions, and are under the constant supervision of military personnel. In addition to regular school subjects, they also follow military training courses, including instruction in the use of weapons and drones.