- Russian teachers have been asked to give up part of their salaries and donate it to Russian soldiers invading Ukraine.
- A teacher at one of the schools told Important Stories they were given flyers to apply to donate.
Russian teachers have been asked to give up part of their salaries and donate it to Russian soldiers invading Ukraine, but they're unsure what the funds will actually be spent on.
At a teachers' meeting at the beginning of the school year at Moscow regional schools, teachers were encouraged to donate 3,000 rubles, or about $50, each to Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine, a teacher at one of the schools told Important Stories.
"We were told that over there [at the front] they have no pants and socks," the teacher, whose name has been kept anonymous for security purposes, said. "It was obvious that our headmistress felt uncomfortable talking about it. She said she had to say that and understood our concerns, but we also had to understand the situation: 'These are our citizens, our soldiers.'"
Teachers were each given a flyer, obtained by Important Stories and translated by Insider, to apply to donate to the Russian troops.
"Please withhold funds in the amount of _____ from my salary for September 2022 and transfer them to the Charitable Foundation 'Cultural Development of the Youth of Podolsk' for support of soldiers of the Russian Federation, taking part in a special military operation on the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic, the Lugansk People's Republic and Ukraine," the form reads.
The teacher told Important Stories that only 50% of the staff at their school applied to donate to the soldiers.
Russian soldiers, meanwhile, have been fleeing villages disguised as locals amid Ukraine's surprise counteroffensive in the Eastern European country's Kharkiv region. In some towns, Russian troops left behind so much ammo that Ukraine is struggling to handle it all.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that Ukraine has retaken around 1,500 square miles of Ukraine back from Russia.
According to Important Stories, the teachers are unsure what their money will be spent on, with no guidance as to what the "Cultural Development of the Youth of Podolsk" supports.
A journalist at Important Stories wrote to one of the reported founders of the foundation asking specifically where the money will go.
"At the moment, the city administration is negotiating with the competent state authorities about how, where and to whom [to transfer the money]," Dmitry Nikolaev responded. "Once this has been decided, the purchase and shipment/delivery will take place."
Nikolaev added, according to Important Stories, that once the goods are shipped, the city will notify everyone who donated.
Thirty-three Russian regions have already pledged 4.8 billion rubles, Important Stories reported, but according to military expert Pavel Luzin, it still won't be enough.
"Now the practice will expand," he told Important Stories, "because there isn't much money in the budget."