Ukrainians have protested against Russia's 'militarising and indoctrinating' South Africa's youth after a social media post showed pictures of a schoolboy in Russian uniform that had been taken in a museum in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk.

A social media post of a South African schoolboy in Russia wearing a Russian military uniform has raised Ukrainian alarm that Moscow is militarising and indoctrinating young South Africans.

The Grade 12 schoolboy from Hermanus High School won a prestigious photographic competition, cosponsored by the Russian presidential fund, in Chelyabinsk, about 1,500km southeast of Moscow.

Last week, the school posted on Facebook and Instagram a photo of the boy receiving the award and other photos of him, including one of him wearing a Russian military uniform and another showing a Ukrainian flag and drones, apparently captured during Russia's ongoing war against its neighbour.

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A parent at the school alerted the Ukrainian Association of South Africa (Uaza) which posted a comment on the school's post, protesting about Russia's "militarisation and indoctrination" of South African schoolchildren. The school immediately deleted its post.

The photos of the boy had been taken in the museum in Chelyabinsk, dedicated to providing information about what Russian President Vladimir Putin insists Russians call the country's "Special Military Operation" - but which the rest of the world calls Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Uaza said the boy is photographed wearing the uniform of the Russian Marines.

'Indoctrination'

In a...