Russia was "forced" to send troops into Ukraine, sparking the ongoing war, claims a new Russian school textbook released on Monday (Jan 27) in Moscow. As per reports, the school textbook likens the Russia-Ukraine war to the Soviet struggle against Nazis — essentially backing Russian President Vladimir Putin's interpretation of his "Special Military Operation," as a difficult but necessary fight against a Western- and NATO-backed Ukraine.

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Propaganda for young minds

According to a Reuters report, the school textbook is designed to be taught to young teenagers aged 15 and older. The three-volume textbook is titled "Military History of Russia," and has been edited by Putin's aide, Vladimir Medinsky.

Medinsky was the head of the delegation, which in 2022, in the early months of the war that is nearing the three-year mark, held unsuccessful peace talks with Ukraine. He is also the co-author of the main history book taught in Russia.

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It is expected that Ukraine's leadership will dismiss the textbook as propaganda. 

What does the book say?

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The textbook seeks to excuse Russia's invasion of its neighbour Ukraine as a fight against an "aggressive anti-Russian bridgehead".

It explains why the Kremlin believes the war started and also highlights what it seeks to paint as incidences of battlefield heroism. It also touts the Russian army's use of techniques used by the Soviet army during the Second World War.

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One of the chapters "Professionalism, indomitability and courage: Russian troops in the Special Military Operation," tells the children that Moscow was "forced" to send troops into Ukraine in 2022. It claims that it was due to the West ignoring Russia's security concerns for years — a veiled reference to the expansion of the NATO military alliance.

Furthermore, it claims that the Western-backed toppling of a Russia-friendly Ukrainian president in 2014 had turned Ukraine into an "aggressive anti-Russian bridgehead".

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Speaking at a press conference, Ivan Basik, a military historian, affiliated with the Russian army alleged that it was Ukrainian and Western actions that made the war "inevitable" and that it was the "most important task" to "explain to the younger generation, to schoolchildren, the forced nature of the special military operation carried out by the Russian Federation." 

(With inputs from agencies)