The 12‑week, NATO‑style program, run by the Military Institute of Kyiv National University and partly funded by the Come Back Alive charity, culminated in a wargaming exercise on July 14, 2026 in Kyiv, where participants used maps and dice to simulate repelling a Russian assault on a village.
Vitalii Tomchyshak, a 27‑year‑old staff sergeant who was among the 103 squad commanders pulled from the front line, said the course taught him that “it doesn’t matter who you are – a sergeant, an officer, anyone – you need to be listened to,” stressing the need for frontline leaders to be empowered to make critical decisions.
Territorial Defence Forces sergeant Artem Chukharev, 23, praised the training for encouraging commanders to take informed decisions and avoid the high human cost of Russian‑style infantry assaults, while a veteran battalion commander known only as “Houston” warned that Soviet‑era attitudes still linger among some senior officers.
Drapatyi, who took over as commander‑in‑chief in July from Oleksandr Syrskyi, held a high‑level meeting with senior sergeants this month to discuss expanding NCO powers, clarifying the command structure and improving pay, and said a sergeant is now “the commander who is closest to the soldier.”
The Ukrainian armed forces confirmed that Drapatyi’s office has published a list of problems to address, including greater authority for non‑commissioned officers and better remuneration, and that work on these reforms is already under way.
With Ukraine fighting to preserve manpower on a 1,200‑km front, the course’s emphasis on autonomous decision‑making is seen as a way to reduce casualties and increase operational flexibility, a priority as the war enters its fifth year.
Of the 103 participants, 88 successfully graduated on July 18; two withdrew for health reasons and the remaining fifteen were dismissed for academic shortcomings, underscoring the program’s demanding standards.