Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Karolina Hird

@karolinahird.bsky.social

2.1K followers 150 following 34 posts

Currently studying war @thestudyofwar.bsky.social. Focusing on Russia’s occupation of Ukraine and all things human rights in TOT. Opinions mine, although I’m “not an expert or analyst” according to the Kremlin, so be warned!!

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Karolina Hird @karolinahird.bsky.social · Mar 24

My latest for @thestudyofwar.bsky.social is out today, examining Russia's continued efforts to deport Ukrainian children. Especially salient given this new UN OHCHR report detailing the impacts of over 3 years of war and occupation on the lives of Ukrainian children.

www.ohchr.org/sites/defaul...

28 110

Reposted by Karolina Hird

Institute for the Study of War @thestudyofwar.bsky.social · Jul 3

NEW: Russia is training Ukrainian children to become drone operators for future service in the Russian military or employment in the Russian defense industrial base.

Read more in the July 3 Russian Occupation Update from @karolinahird.bsky.social: isw.pub/OccupationUp...

5 49 130

Karolina Hird @karolinahird.bsky.social · Jun 26

9/ Ultimately, Russia is doing this to further its own (illegitimate) claims that Ukraine is an inherent part of Russia on a linguistic basis. Read my latest Russian Occupation Update for @thestudyofwar.bsky.social to learn more: understandingwar.org/backgrounder...

Institute for the Study of War

Russia will effectively ban Ukrainian-language education in schools in occupied Ukraine starting on September 1, setting multigenerational conditions that will allow the Kremlin to claim that occupied...

understandingwar.org

Karolina Hird @karolinahird.bsky.social · Jun 26

8/ The Ukrainian MFA condemned this new draft law on the basis that supports Russia's genocidal strategy in Ukraine. mfa.gov dot ua/news/komentar-mzs-shchodo-zaboroni-rf-vivchennya-ukrayinskoyi-movi-v-shkolah-na-timchasovo-okupovanih-teritoriyah-ukrayini

mfa.gov

1 8

Karolina Hird @karolinahird.bsky.social · Jun 26

7/ The choice to select Ukrainian language education is seen as an overtly "anti-Russian" decision. Occupation administrations are likely keeping close tabs on families who elect to have their kids learn Ukrainian, which puts immense pressure on families.

1 7

Karolina Hird @karolinahird.bsky.social · Jun 26

6/ I assessed at the time that Russian authorities would often claim that students in occupied areas of Ukraine have the “option” to continue to learn Ukrainian but that the majority of students "choose" not to. This minimizes the lengths Russia goes to to restrict access to Ukrainian language.

1 7

Karolina Hird @karolinahird.bsky.social · Jun 26

5/ Russia used similar tactics following the 2022 full-scale invasion. In fact, the Zaporizhia Oblast occupation administration banned "mandatory" Ukrainian language lessons in March 2023. This amounted to an effective ban on Ukrainian language education on a more local level.

1 7

Karolina Hird @karolinahird.bsky.social · Jun 26

4/ Russia cracked down on Ukrainian-language education during its first invasion of Ukraine in 2014. As a result, 214 total students (or 0.1% of all students) in occupied Crimea reportedly took Ukrainian in the 2020/2021 schoolyear. krippo.ru/files/22_07_...

krippo.ru

1 6

Karolina Hird @karolinahird.bsky.social · Jun 26

3/ The thing is, Russia has already been significantly limiting Ukrainian-language education in TOT since 2014. This new draft order will basically codify total restrictions on native language instruction.

1 6

Karolina Hird @karolinahird.bsky.social · Jun 26

2/ The RU Education Ministry published a draft order detailing plans to exclude Ukrainian-language instruction at all educational levels due to "the changed geopolitical situation." Students will supposedly have the option to study Ukrainian on an extracurricular basis, but it's not that simple.

1 6

Karolina Hird @karolinahird.bsky.social · Jun 26

1/ Russia is effectively banning Ukrainian-language education in schools in occupied Ukraine starting September 1. Here's a quick🧵 on how Russia uses constraints on Ukrainian language access as a tool of coercive control in occupied Ukraine.

3 25 87

Reposted by Karolina Hird

Eilish Hart @eilishhart.bsky.social · Jun 19

“When Russia says they’re ‘deporting’ someone, they’re not deporting them back to Ukraine.”

My story on how Putin’s latest attempt to force Russian passports on Ukrainians paves the way for more war crimes in the occupied territories. meduza.io/en/feature/2... @meduza.io

‘A false semblance of choice’ Putin’s latest passportization deadline dials up the pressure on civilians in Ukraine’s occupied territories — Meduza

Ukrainians living under occupation have long faced pressure to assume Russian citizenship. But in March, Vladimir Putin turned things up a notch. In a decree aimed at boosting the Kremlin’s campaign t...

meduza.io

1 6 6

Reposted by Karolina Hird

Meduza in English @meduza.io · Jun 16

Occupation authorities plan to build and repair over 600 miles of roads in Crimea — a project experts and Ukrainian officials say is meant to bolster military logistics and facilitate the illegal extraction of resources from occupied territory.
meduza.io/en/feature/2...

‘Neocolonial piracy’ In occupied Crimea, Russia is building roads to move weapons and stolen resources — Meduza

Over the next five years, the Russian authorities plan to build and repair more than 600 miles of roads in annexed Crimea. But it’s unlikely the goal is simply to improve life for locals. Experts and…

meduza.io

3 14 41

Reposted by Karolina Hird

Institute for the Study of War @thestudyofwar.bsky.social · Jun 10

NEW: Kremlin-appointed Russian Commissioner on Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova tacitly acknowledged that Russia has illegally deported Ukrainian children. Lvova-Belova’s statements further confirm the illegality of Russia’s behavior vis-à-vis Ukrainian children. isw.pub/OccupationUpdate060925

2 33 160

Karolina Hird @karolinahird.bsky.social · Jun 4

Lots of infrastructure developments in today’s Occupation Update.

Russian infrastructure projects in TOT serve as powerful indicators of Russia’s plans to physically integrate Ukrainian assets into Russia, generating economic benefits for the Russian state + complicating reintegration efforts.

Institute for the Study of War @thestudyofwar.bsky.social · Jun 4

3/ Russia is taking steps to further consolidate its control over the energy grid in occupied Ukraine, supporting Russian efforts to integrate the energy system in occupied Ukraine with the Russian energy system.

Read more from ISW's @karolinahird.bsky.social: isw.pub/OccupationUp...

Institute for the Study of War

Russian occupation officials continue to articulate plans for the forced removal and deportation of Ukrainian children over the course of Summer 2025.

isw.pub

Reposted by Karolina Hird

The Kyiv Independent @kyivindependent.com · May 28

Russian armed forces have committed crimes against humanity by deliberately targeting civilians with drones in Ukraine's Kherson Oblast, according to a new report by the United Nation's Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine.

UN commission says Russian drone attacks against Kherson amount to crimes against humanity

From July 2024, nearly 150 civilians have been killed and hundreds more wounded in drone strikes on Kherson city and 16 surrounding localities, according to the United Nation's Independent Internation...

kyivindependent.com

11 160 450

Reposted by Karolina Hird

Institute for the Study of War @thestudyofwar.bsky.social · May 16

“There’s a very clear and concerted effort to deport Ukrainian children and adopt them into Russian families and erase their Ukrainian identities."

ISW's @karolinahird.bsky.social speaks with @thetimes.com about Russian efforts to destroy Ukrainian identity:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mIZ...

Putin's Plan To Destroy Ukraine's Identity I Times Explains

YouTube video by Times Originals

www.youtube.com

7 39 120

Reposted by Karolina Hird

Institute for the Study of War @thestudyofwar.bsky.social · May 12

NEW: An international coalition comprised of Ukraine and its partners agreed to establish a special tribunal to investigate and prosecute the Russian crimes of aggression against Ukraine. (🧵1/3)

Read more in the latest Russian Occupation Update: isw.pub/OccupationUp...

2 30 140

Karolina Hird @karolinahird.bsky.social · May 9

Awesome to see @www.csce.gov calling out Russia's widescale deportation of Ukrainian children.

We over at @thestudyofwar.bsky.social have been doing our best to keep this in the public eye, so please check out more of our work on the ISW website:

www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder...

Reposted by Karolina Hird

The Kyiv Independent @kyivindependent.com · May 8

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine has identified over 19,500 children who have been forcibly deported to Russia, Belarus, or occupied territories, where they are subjected to intense propaganda designed to erase their Ukrainian identity.

As Russia trains abducted children for war, Ukraine fights uphill battle to bring them home

Around the world, abducting a child is a serious crime punishable by years behind bars. But when the kidnapper is Russia, justice remains a distant hope. So does the child’s return home. Since the s...

kyivindependent.com

19 210 490

Reposted by Karolina Hird

Tyler McBrien @tylermcbrien.com · Apr 30

NEW: A source at State shared with me a memo from the DoD Joint Staff dated 4/15 confirming that the combatant commands support the Women, Peace, and Security program and collectively recommended to continue its implementation, contrary to Sec Hegseth claim that "troops HATE it"

2 11 45

Reposted by Karolina Hird

Institute for the Study of War @thestudyofwar.bsky.social · Apr 29

NEW: Russia is once again preparing to escalate the forced removal and deportation of Ukrainian children during the upcoming summer months. (1/3)

Russian Occupation Update, April 28, 2025: isw.pub/OccupationUp...

9 120 250

Karolina Hird @karolinahird.bsky.social · Apr 29

This absolutely cannot, under any circumstances, become normalized. This is the reality of Russia's occupation of Ukraine- don't ever look away.

Meduza in English @meduza.io · Apr 29

Before the Russian authorities returned the body of 27-year-old Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna to Ukraine last week, several organs, including her eyes and brain, had been removed, according to a new investigation.
meduza.io/en/feature/2...

Body of Ukrainian journalist who died in Russian captivity repatriated with organs removed and other signs of torture — Meduza

Before Russian authorities returned the body of Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna to Ukraine last week, several organs, including her eyes and brain, had been removed, according to a new joint…

meduza.io

1 3

Reposted by Karolina Hird

Institute for the Study of War @thestudyofwar.bsky.social · Apr 24

3/ Russia is actively recruiting teachers from throughout the Russian Federation to teach in occupied Luhansk Oblast as part of the “Zemskyi Uchitel” (“Rural Teacher”) program.

Read more from @karolinahird.bsky.social: isw.pub/OccupationUp...

Institute for the Study of War

Russia is extracting economic benefits from occupied Ukraine by exploiting Ukrainian infrastructure and logistics networks. The Russian Federal Agency for Railway Transport (Roszheldor) announced on A...

isw.pub

1 7 59

Reposted by Karolina Hird

Center for European Policy Analysis @cepa.org · Apr 23

Please, Do Not Betray My Crimea | "Crimea is not just a lump of land, it is the home to many hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians. In exile or under occupation, it is a part of our soul." Elina Beketova

Please, Do Not Betray My Crimea

Crimea is not just a lump of land, it is the home to many hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians under occupation.

cepa.org

3 35 160

Karolina Hird @karolinahird.bsky.social · Apr 23

I've also been keeping track of Russia's myriad human rights abuses and violations of international law in Crimea via biweekly Russian Occupation Updates: www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder...

Institute for the Study of War

This page collects ISW's Russian Occupation Updates. The occupation updates will examine Russian efforts to consolidate administrative control of annexed areas and forcibly integrate Ukrainian citize...