'Extremely Uncomfortable': Russian Children Get Bullied in Norwegian Schools Over Ukraine Op

Norway's Anti-Racist Centre has received a number of reports of incitement and abuse amid Russia's ongoing operation in Ukraine. Its general manager Linda Tinuke Strandmyr has called for school measures among different age groups to protect innocent children from political mobbing.

Russian children are getting bullied in Norwegian schools amid Moscow's ongoing special operation in Ukraine, which the West portrays as an “invasion”, national broadcaster NRK reported.

According to Tatiana Cruickshank, the chairwoman of the Norwegian-Russian association in the city of Bodø, there is a growing bitterness towards Russians in general that affects children and leads to misunderstandings and abuse.

“It affects me. It affects everyone. It is a terrible situation that affects our everyday lives. Children hear a lot from adults and the news picture. What they hear may be too difficult for them to understand. If there is a Russian-speaking child in the classroom, they may feel guilty and have to be held responsible for Russia's actions,” Tatiana Cruickshank told NRK.

According to Cruickshank such situations have occurred in Bodø and happen more often than we realise.

“I do not think all children tell about this,” she mused.

Furthermore, she ventured that even adult Russians come under pressure.

“We Russians experience direct questions about whether we support Putin, and think what he does is okay. The implication is that that we must feel responsible,” she said.

Norway's Anti-Racist Centre has received a number of reports of incitement and abuse amid Russia's operation in Ukraine. Its general manager Linda Tinuke Strandmyr urged to distinguish between individuals and politics and called for schools to take measures among children of different age groups.

“I hope that the schools immediately implement measures to talk to the students about this,” Tinuke Strandmyr mused. “I believe that teachers should have a meeting to find some good pedagogical resources and perspectives on how to address the situation. And talk about the difference between nationality and a state's actions. This affects innocent individual children,” Linda Tinuke Strandmyr emphasised.

On February 24, Russia launched a special military operation to demilitarise and 'de-Nazify' Ukraine, as well as protect the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics it had formally recognised earlier that week.

Moscow has repeatedly emphasised that it harbours no occupation plans that the operation's goal is to protect civilians from genocide.

The Russian Defence Ministry stressed that the military doesn't threaten Ukrainian cities or civilians, instead targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure with high-precision weapons.