He wanted to teach history — he had to create it: the journey of an officer from Mykolaiv region

From classroom to war: why a history teacher from Mykolaiv region left the school to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine even before the invasion

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18 Sep 2026

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For more than 10 years Yurii from the Mykolaiv region taught children history, and now he himself has become a participant in events that future generations will read about in textbooks. Currently a major of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the callsign “Teacher” he serves in the 40th Separate Artillery Brigade named after Grand Duke Vytautas. His story was told by ArmiyaInform and the Mykolaiv Regional Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center.

Yurii tied his professional path to history long before the military. In 2005 he entered the Faculty of History at Mykolaiv State University named after Vasyl Sukhomlynsky. While studying, he also completed training at the military department for the specialty of an airmobile platoon commander.

The future officer began his pedagogical work while still a student — he taught world history at School No. 13 in Mykolaiv. After graduating in 2010 he began working at Hannivska Secondary School I-III degrees of the then Bratske district of the Mykolaiv region. He worked there for 11 years. After the start of Russian aggression against Ukraine in 2014, the reserve officer was regularly called up for military gatherings and retraining. Thoughts about full-time service became increasingly serious, but for some time Yurii was held back by his responsibility to the school and the children. According to him, rural educational institutions already lacked young teachers.

By the end of the 2020–2021 school year he had already informed the school principal that he intended to sign a contract with the Armed Forces. Among possible places of service was the 79th Separate Air Assault Brigade, where he had once trained, but in the end he settled on the artillery.

Talking about the decision that changed his life, Yurii explained his choice as follows:

“In the end I chose the 40th Separate Artillery Brigade”, – Yurii said.

In October 2021 he signed a contract and began military service. At the start of his service Yurii held the position of deputy commander of the 10th artillery battery for moral and psychological support. Only a few months remained between the peaceful life of a teacher and the full-scale war.

In February 2022 the unit arrived in the Kharkiv region. The servicemen believed they were going for exercises, but the morning of 24 February 2022 completely changed the situation. They heard explosions at about four in the morning and the unit was informed about the start of the full-scale Russian invasion:

“Wake up!” We hear explosions, and our division commander announces that the war has started, that our neighbor has attacked us”, – recalls Yurii.

After that, units began receiving combat missions, checking equipment, vehicles and ammunition, and moving out to designated positions.

In the first days and months of the full-scale war one important part of Yurii‘s work was communicating with servicemen. The brigade had many very young fighters, including 18–19-year-old lads from the Mykolaiv region. Some of them by age could indeed have been his former students.

It was exactly his many years of teaching experience that helped him quickly find a common language with the young servicemen:

“It was easier for me with them because I approached it as a teacher. I’ll put it this way: the guys were like students to me, and it was easier for me to communicate with them”, – the officer said.

The conversations were not only about the current situation at the front. A historian by education, he explained events of past centuries to his young comrades, talked about the formation of Ukrainian statehood, Kievan Rus, the Cossack era, relations of Ukrainian hetmans with the Moscow tsars, and figures such as Bohdan Khmelnytsky and Ivan Mazepa. Sometimes informal history lessons took place right by the campfire. During short breaks between missions the soldiers fried salo or potatoes, and the “Teacher” recalled historical episodes, legends and fables. According to him, for young fighters such conversations became an opportunity to distract themselves from the war, at least for a short time.

Later the relationship between the former teacher and the young servicemen changed,

“We no longer spoke as teacher and students, but as comrades-in-arms”, – emphasized Yurii.

His experience working at a school became an important tool for the officer during his service. It helped him explain complex things simply, work with people of different ages and find the right words in difficult moments.

A separate topic of conversation with servicemen was the history of the 40th Artillery Brigade itself, which bears the name of Grand Duke Vytautas. Yurii tells his comrades about this historical figure, his connection with Ukrainian lands and the Mykolaiv region, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Cossack era and the centuries-long relations between Ukraine and its eastern neighbor. Yurii continues to serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He has exchanged the school classroom for a military unit, but the profession of teacher has in practice stayed with him: instead of schoolchildren, his comrades listen to him, and historical knowledge helps explain the reasons for the struggle that Ukraine is waging against Russian aggression.

For the Day of Knowledge on 1 September 2026 “Teacher” also addressed Ukrainian schoolchildren. Among the most important things for the younger generation he named the Ukrainian language and the history of Ukraine, saying that, in his view, these should become the foundation for the future of young Ukrainians.

“Learn the Ukrainian language, learn history”, – urged Yurii.

The path of Yurii began at the Faculty of History in Mykolaiv, continued with 11 years of work in a rural school, and in 2021 led him to the ranks of the Armed Forces. Today he not only fulfills the duties of an officer, but continues to do what he did before the military — pass on knowledge to younger people and explain why Ukraine’s history is directly connected to its present.