Students in Mykolaiv Operated Drones and Rode a Ground Robot

Students from local colleges in Mykolaiv took part in practical sessions with service members of the 79th Separate Tavria Air Assault Brigade. The meeting combined an introduction to modern military equipment with a discussion of combat experience, military service, and recovery from severe injuries.

The event was reported by the Mykolaiv Regional Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center. It was dedicated to the Day of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

For the practical part, participants split into four groups and visited training stations. At each one, instructors introduced the young people to a different area of military training:

• Instructor “Actor” presented unmanned systems — FPV drones and heavy bomber drones. Those who wished could try piloting a drone using special goggles.
• Service member “Kalyna” taught mine safety, explaining what to do if they encountered a suspicious object.
• Instructor “Banker” demonstrated military weapons and introduced the students to the basics of firearms training.
• “Mammoth” demonstrated a ground-based robotic system. Some female students took a ride on it while their classmates remotely controlled the equipment.

Before the practical sessions, the young people spoke with service members, including holders of all classes of state orders and brigade instructors. They shared their personal stories:

• Major Volodymyr-Bohdan Yanush is a holder of all classes of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky. He chose a military career as a teenager and graduated from the Hetman Petro Sahaidachny National Army Academy. In combat in 2022, the officer suffered severe injuries: both legs, an arm, and internal organs were damaged. He told the students how he survived his injuries, underwent a lengthy recovery, and returned to military service.
• Junior Sergeant Serhii Kiruta is a holder of all classes of the Order for Courage. Before mobilization, he earned a degree in computer systems and software engineering, worked as a regional manager, and had no military experience. After being mobilized, he mastered military skills and later became a platoon commander of strike unmanned aerial systems. While carrying out a combat mission, he and his comrades were trapped: the door of the building jammed, and then a fire broke out. The service member suffered a concussion and burns, underwent treatment and recovery, and returned to his unit.

“If you want to, you can always learn,” junior sergeant Serhii Kiruta told the students.

After the conversation with the service members and before moving on to the training stations, warrant officer Roman, call sign “Historian”, spoke to the group. He introduced the students to the history of the Air Assault Forces, the 79th Brigade’s combat record, and the distinctive aspects of service in the airborne forces.

The recruitment center noted that the meeting gave young people an opportunity to learn more about modern military technologies, the service of airborne troops, and the personal stories of Ukraine’s defenders.

We wrote earlier:

• High school students in Mykolaiv Oblast will receive monthly training at specialized “Defending Ukraine” centers
• Schoolchildren in Ukraine to be taught mine safety, drone piloting, and first aid
• Mykolaiv university trains future officers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
• Mykolaiv paratroopers successfully conduct brigade exercises
• Schoolchildren seated in the cockpits of combat aircraft in Kulbakino