The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has exposed new evidence of the institutional presence of the Russian Federation in the occupied part of Donetsk region, the materials obtained will be used as an evidence base in the relevant criminal proceedings.

"Now, in the self-proclaimed 'DPR' the 'reform' of the sphere of education and science is being completed, which provides for a complete transition of education to the standards of the Russian Federation. Russian government authorities already recognize higher education diplomas issued in the 'DPR'. And the 'Ministry of Education of the DPR' is headed by an employee of the state security bodies of Russia," the press center of the SBU reported.

It is noted that the materials received will be used as an evidence base in the relevant criminal proceedings.

"Thus, the SBU officers established that in 2016, the self-proclaimed 'DPR' adopted the concept of reforming education and science of the 'republic' for 2016-2021. Its main goal is to introduce Russian standards in the educational sphere. The active phase of the pseudo-reform fell on 2020-2021. But the institutional integration of the 'DPR' into the Russian Federation began in 2017. It was then that Russian President Vladimir Putin issued Decree No. 74, by which Russia began to recognize diplomas issued by educational institutions of higher education of the so-called 'DPR,'" the message says.

According to the SBU, representatives of the "DPR" are trying to add these diplomas to the general register of the Russian Federation. In total, in 2019-2020, graduates of "DPR" educational institutions, accredited in the Russian Federation, were issued more than 2,500 Russian state diplomas, and since 2014, their number has been more than 8,000.

Thus, the issuance of official documents of the Russian Federation to organizations and institutions located on the territory of Ukraine confirms that Russia controls the occupied parts of Donbas, directs local processes and strengthens its presence, disguising itself as the structures of the self-proclaimed "DPR" and "LPR".

The SBU stressed that in one of the letters, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov allows the opening of points for the unified state examination on the basis of Donetsk municipal educational institutions of the so-called "DPR". With this letter, Lavrov granted a petition from Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Gennady Onishchenko, who repeatedly visited the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and in 2020 and 2021 personally presented some of the diplomas of higher education in occupied Donetsk (certified as those that passed Russian accreditation).

"The SBU has evidence that even the current 'DPR Education Minister' Mikhail Kushakov has a Russian passport and is an officer of the Russian Federation," the message says.

Now the SBU is verifying the information that the leadership of the so-called "DPR" is awaiting the approval of the government of the Russian Federation in order to take targeted measures to impose an administrative model of management, standardization and certification of the activities of "DPR" bodies and institutions in accordance with the norms of the Russian Federation and further federalization of the occupied territory of Donetsk region.

The issue of announcing a notification of suspicion to the relevant persons is being resolved.