In Europe’s Schoolyards, Putin’s War Hurts Russian-Speaking Children

About a week after Russia invaded Ukraine, Elisa Spadoni, 13, who is Russian-Italian, wrapped up her homework at her house in central Italy and checked her class WhatsApp group. In the chat, one classmate called her “daughter of Putin.” Another message read, “You might as well die.”

When the girl asked her classmates to stop, one boy replied, “We will stop once you will stop throwing missiles on Ukraine.” He also wrote: “Tomorrow I will beat her up.”