Kremlin chiefs have ordered Russian school textbooks to be rewritten to brainwash children into hero-worshipping President Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine invasion.
The schoolbooks are being altered to include a positive outlook on the full-scale invasion, painting many soldiers as heroes of the motherland.
And they are being altered by Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky who has come up with a new school course in history.
In particular, to avoid mention of the Russian military’s catastrophic bungles throughout that war, the books will focus on the conflict in Donbas, eastern Ukraine.
It comes as war crimes investigators are probing thousands of atrocities committed by Russian troops, including rape, abduction, torture and murder.
Well over 150,000 Russian troops are said to have been killed in the war which is now in its second year - and 3,423 of Moscow’s tanks have been destroyed.
And British military intelligence chiefs have revealed Putin’s troops are even relying on 60 year-old T-62 tanks and BTR-50 armoured personnel carriers dating back to the 1950s.
Russian fears have increased over annexed Crimea being stormed by Ukraine -as shown by massive barricades being built on tourist beaches.
The peninsula would normally be crowded with sun seekers in the summer but now trenches have been built to deter attacks.
The move is a clear sign that Vladimir Putin’s commanders are concerned they will face a fight to hold on to Crimea, annexed in 2014 from Ukraine.
A local resident on a beach in Yevpatoria highlighted the defensive constructions on the beach.
He ridiculed the chances of a “holiday season in Crimea” this year.
“This is how the seashore is being strengthened,” he said. It's not a waterfront reconstruction [but for military purposes]. And what holiday season in Crimea can we talk about now?
“How does a tourist get to the sea if there are such trenches for 200 km [124 miles]? It's all ****ed up.
“And this is how it is now all over western Crimea.”
The resident mocked Putin’s hope one year ago of storming Kyiv in three days.
“Everything is clearly going according to plan,” he said sarcastically.
Another report warned that children and tourists could be drafted in to dig sea defences.
Aerial inspection shows that trenches have been dug along beaches east of Yevpatoria.
Footage also shows beach defences at another resort Chernomorskoye, further west.
Reports suggest a defensive line consisting of trenches, anti-tank pyramids and minefields is being built along the western coast of the peninsula.
“Why are there pits on the beach? Are we preparing for an attack from the sea?” asked local resident Igor Soltan.
Several Russian military facilities are nearby.
The Main Directorate of Ukrainian Intelligence has previously reported that the Russian military "are trying to further strengthen the coastline, fearing the landing of Ukrainian troops."
Even before annexation, Crimea was among the most popular summer locations for Russians.
