Putin taught a lesson for Russia's new school curriculum, which includes instructions on how to handle a Kalashnikov

• Putin held a Q&A with hand-picked Russian students at the start of the new school semester.
• The session didn't mention the Ukraine war, but included several pupils from the occupied territories.
• It comes as Russia overhauls its curriculum to include rifle training and the history of the conflict.

President Vladimir Putin personally taught a lesson at the start of Russia's new school year, as part of a semester that includes training on Kalashnikovs, grenades, and drones.

The showcase lesson consisted of a Q&A with hand-picked high-achieving youngsters from across Russia — but also three from occupied territories in Ukraine, all of whom were presented as being part of Russia's so-called "new regions."

Although the session conspicuously avoided any discussion of the invasion of Ukraine, the wider curriculum has rewritten the story of the two countries' relations and has introduced various elements of military training.

A military course was rolled out in occupied Crimea for children as young as kindergarten age earlier this year, while military skills such as operating drones, firing rifles, as well as navigation and first aid have been added to the curriculum in Russia.

The full transcript of Putin's lesson from Friday is now available online, strongly suggesting it's intended as a showcase of Russian national values, as well as a demonstration by Russia of the apparent willingness of some Ukrainian people to become part of the Russian "motherland."

The students included two from the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Crimea, as well as a 15-year-old girl who said she was from occupied Melitopol, who asked Putin how he sees the development of the "new regions."

In his response, Putin said that these areas had been neglected by Ukrainian leadership and needed to catch up with Russia, and that 1.2 trillion rubles ($12.2 billion) had been allocated for rebuilding.

He did not mention that Russian forces were responsible for much of the destruction.

Prodded by the student from Melitopol, Putin also said that Russia was looking to build tourist resorts in the occupied areas.

During the "lesson" there were a handful of informal moments, such as when Putin discussed his first teacher, and when he invited a student poet to read an example of his work to the class.

The showcase lesson appears to be part of another effort to naturalize Russia's claims to Ukrainian territories, and the war more broadly, to Russians.

Following a series of referenda widely described as a sham last year, Russia declared Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia to be part of Russia. The vast majority of the international community, including the UN, rejects this, as well as Russia's claim to Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.

Russia has placed an effective ban on maps that mark the occupied territories as Ukrainian and launched a brand new school curriculum.

The curriculum, which was reviewed in detail by Insider, rewrites the history of the two countries, casting the invading Russian forces as benevolent rescuers of Ukrainians under a Kyiv "regime."

More recently, a textbook glorifying the invasion of Ukraine has been introduced to Russian high schools.