Models instead of training grounds. Why military departments do not train experienced officers – even for money

"Military departments are completely detached from life," says LIGA.net communications officer Andriy, on condition of anonymity. He also graduated from the military department, but he gained real experience only at the front – he fought back when the war was called the ATO. He knows about communications not from lectures, but from real service.

All the equipment and technology is from the Soviet era, he says. The teacher cannot teach something new because there is an approved (albeit outdated) curriculum.

Andriy graduated in the 2000s, but little has changed since then. This is confirmed by student Yuriy, who now attends the military department at the National University of the Ministry of Defense once a week: "We are being trained to be platoon leaders."

The course lasts two years and is not free – it costs UAH 16,000 per year. In fact, in other universities, students also pay for military departments, but the prices are lower.

The full-scale war has revealed the main problem with military departments in Ukrainian universities: they train officers who do not know how to fight. They have existed for decades, but still remain more of a formality than real preparation for combat.

Why haven't these departments been put in order yet, and is it necessary in times of war?