The reform of the “Defense of Ukraine” subject has been underway for two years, with First Corps Azov of the National Guard as the key partner of the Ministry of Education and Science in this process.
Azov instructors regularly conduct training courses for “Defense of Ukraine” teachers. Students attend combined practical and theoretical sessions once a month, building skills in tactical medicine, weapons handling, and drone piloting.
For one such session, Azov fighters invited their friends from the music group “Kurhan i Ahrehat.” The guys came to support the students, but ended up joining the exercises themselves, as today’s course looks nothing like the basic military training they went through in school.
What sets the “Defense of Ukraine” course apart from previous formats is not only the use of modern technologies like drones. Above all, it is the comprehensive approach that matters. As First Corps Azov representative “Kubanets” notes, Ukraine is building an entire chain of education for citizens — in schools and universities — covering the knowledge needed for survival, for a quality life, and for understanding one’s place and role in the state.
The subject focuses not only on preparing young people for military service but also on developing responsible, proactive citizens with the psychological resilience and composure that modern life demands, in which the ability to act in emergency situations is as fundamental a skill as digital literacy.
In the video, you will hear firsthand impressions from the students and adults who completed the course, as well as hear from the teachers who deliver it, representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine with the 12th Special Forces Brigade Azov and First Corps Azov of the National Guard, on what makes it different.