Yesterday at 20:15
Hundreds of people streamed through the gates of the Ivan Bohun Military Academy in Kyiv for the annual open day.
But this year was no ordinary occasion – for the first time, there will be dozens of female cadets. Varvara Butenko, a 7th grader from the Dnipropetrovsk region, is among the visitors considering a military career.
“This is important for me because my grandparents were military officers. Therefore, I decided to continue this dynasty, so to speak,” Butenko said. “I would like to treat soldiers in a military hospital, I would like my specialization to be connected with medicine.”
Meanwhile, ninth grader Sofiya Zhylinska is already preparing to enroll. Entrance exams for the boys and girls are identical – including physical training. Sofiya is confident – she’s been swimming regularly for 11 years.
“My dad is also a soldier. This is very close to me, so when I learned that girls are to be enrolled at the Lyceum, it made me think about it,” Zhylinska said.
The head of the academy, Ihor Gordiychuk said that male and female students will attend the same lessons but will study and live separately.
“Now, the task is to enroll a separate (female) platoon during this first year. Not fewer than 10 and not more than 30 girls. Their curriculum will be the same as the boys’ curriculum. But, perhaps, it could be changed for the next enrollments,” Gordiychyk said.
“I think the girls will have a big effect on the situation with discipline,” freshman student Artem Koshmiakov said. “They will get a lot of attention from the boys if you know what I mean. I think they will eventually separate boys and girls.”
After graduating, the female students can develop further skills in military spheres including cybersecurity, informational operations, military medicine, and combat tactics.
