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Ukraine’s domestic security service said it is investigating whether a monastery in Kyiv has been operating an illegal school that used Russian textbooks, an issue that touches Ukraine’s concerns about Moscow’s efforts to influence children’s identities.
The case comes amid heightened scrutiny of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has been banned by the Ukrainian government over its historical ties to the Russian Orthodox Church and its Moscow-based patriarch who has framed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a holy war. Church leaders in Ukraine have said they broke from Moscow, but Ukrainian officials dispute that claim.
The Security Service of Ukraine, known as the SBU, said in a statement to the public broadcaster Suspilne that it was examining “possible unlawful activity” at the Holosiiv Pustyn monastery, which is affiliated with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church aligned with the Moscow Patriarchate. The inquiry is part of a criminal proceeding, the agency said, and a pretrial investigation is underway.
The investigation follows reporting by the Ukrainian outlet Slidstvo.Info, which found that an unlicensed, full-time school had been operating on the monastery’s grounds. According to the outlet, parishioners connected to the church were sending their children to the school, which its director described as a “family club” but which reporters said functioned much like a conventional school, with classes held five days a week from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., as well as an after-school program.
Slidstvo.Info reported that more than 60 students, ranging from first to ninth grade, attended the school, which employed 16 teachers. The outlet identified the director as Anna Bolhova and said she founded the Orthodox school, called Perspektyva, in February 2025. While the children were formally registered at licensed Ukrainian schools, reporters said, their paperwork was kept there only “for formality,” and the students did not actually attend classes at those institutions.
According to the investigation, children at the monastery school were taught using Soviet-era materials, including a first-grade arithmetic textbook published in 1966. Classes included “film” and “music,” in which Russian-language movies and songs were used, and a subject listed as “Slavic language” was described by a teacher as Russian.
After Slidstvo.Info published its findings, Ukraine’s Education Ministry and the State Service for Education Quality said they would verify the information and cooperate with law enforcement.
Investigative journalists, including OCCRP and its partners, have previously documented Russian efforts to reshape children’s identities during the war, including through forced transfers and so-called re-education programs, allegations that Moscow has denied.
