Ministry of Defense: Ukrainians will be trained for national resistance from the age of 14
During a roundtable discussion at Ukrinform the acting head of the Department of National Resistance Policy of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Ihor Khort, shared this information.
He reminded that instead of the basic general military training (BGMT), the state is implementing a new model – the fundamentals of national resistance, which will involve all citizens, starting from school age.
"We are now moving away from the system where everything was reduced to BGMT. It is no longer just an educational discipline; it is a cycle of training citizens for national resistance," – Khort noted.
According to the new approaches, the cycle of training citizens for national resistance begins at the age of 14, including participation in military-patriotic games such as "Sokil," "Dzhura," as well as studying the updated subject "Defense of Ukraine," which is already being introduced in schools and vocational education.
Additionally, BGMT will be abolished in higher education institutions, replaced by the "Fundamentals of National Resistance," but without assigning a military specialty.
"This is not about a military specialty. It’s about motivation, about readiness to defend the country. The subject "Fundamentals of National Resistance" will be mandatory for both boys and girls. If you don’t want to participate – you will be expelled from the educational institution," – the Ministry of Defense representative explained.
Unlike BGMT, which was taught formally and did not provide real training, the new approach involves practical participation in training, including handling weapons, tactical and fire training, the Ministry of Defense representative noted.
He reminded that after completing education in educational institutions, citizens will be required to undergo basic military service, which will become part of the overall training. The new model is already being implemented, and, as the ministry states, it will allow making the country's defense mass and resilient.
