How Ukraine’s Naval Institute defies war

How Ukraine’s Naval Institute defies war Professor Denys Zavhorodnii of the Department of Naval Tactics at the Naval Institute in Odesa, looks at how Ukraine’s Naval Institute defies war to sustain leader development. On a July morning along the Black Sea coast, cadets at the Naval Institute of the National Defence University of Ukraine in Odesa (NDUU/NIO) practice repairing offshore unmanned systems as air raid sirens echo in the background. Outside, sandbags brace classroom windows. Inside, teachers instruct shipboard navigation and communications without pause. This striking contrast captures a powerful paradox: even as Ukraine remains a battleground, military education not only endures – it thrives, a case study in institutional resilience.