NCCC initiates inclusion of cyber competitions in military-technological sports

On Tuesday, May 20, the National University of Physical Education and Sports of Ukraine hosted a forum “Innovations and Development in Sports in Times of War” with the participation of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The event has become a key platform for discussing current challenges and prospects in the field of adaptive, veteran and military-technological sports.

Addressing the forum participants, the President of Ukraine emphasized that war veterans are an integral part of our society.“Veterans are our heroes. They are an integral part of society. We must understand that in our space, veterans should feel like everyone else. We also have to respect them for what they have done, for defending our independence,” he said.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also emphasized the importance of building sports infrastructure, developing innovative formats of physical training and integrating young people into the process of creating a future that takes into account the needs of veterans in a peaceful life. The forum brought together representatives of the public sector, defense industry, sports community, veterans, scientists, and technology and security experts.

A separate panel, Military and Technology Sport, presented a new model of training specialists through simulation, cyber, and robotic practices. This sport is also seen as an effective tool for the physical and psychological adaptation of veterans, as it promotes the development of motor skills, coordination, muscle activity and thinking.

In addition, even those who lost limbs during the war will be able to practice this sport, because “it's not just a workout - it's a return to life.” At the initiative of the National Coordination Center for Cybersecurity, a working body of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, cyber competitions (CTF format) were officially included in military-technological sports. This step is strategically important in the context of forming a professional talent pool in the field of cybersecurity, promoting technological skills among young people, and building an innovative infrastructure for the country's defense.

Representatives of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, and the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine joined the panel discussion.

In particular, Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Serhii Demediuk emphasized the need to institutionalize a new model of military applied sports that combines physical activity, intellectual challenges and technological knowledge. “Military-technological sport is a new training platform that combines practice, experience, technology and innovation. We have a clear understanding: only systematic training and creation of conditions for realizing the potential of Ukrainian specialists is the key to national security in a hybrid war,” said Sergiy Demediuk.

He also emphasized that the key priority is to protect the infrastructure that ensures the development, management and combat use of drones, ground robotic systems and communication systems. To this end, the NCCC has included CTF competitions in the military-technology sport, where participants practice practical skills in detecting and neutralizing cyber threats that may be directed at this infrastructure, among other things. This approach helps to build the readiness of specialists to counter real cyberattacks in the field of military technology.

The discussion covered such key topics as the “personnel shortage” of instructors in the areas of UAVs and cybersecurity; skills development from an early age: integration of military-technology sports into the education system; use of technology for demining, rescue operations, and disaster relief; technology as a means of rehabilitation for veterans; and military-technology sports as a platform for employment of young professionals and veterans. The forum, with the support of the

NCCC, also included practical competitions for the Cup of Ukraine in military-technological sports in three disciplines:

• CTF (Capture the Flag) - cyber competition;
• FPV drones with loads - technical races;
• missions by ground robotic systems.

The competitions demonstrated the high level of training of the participants and the importance of introducing sports formats for the development of applied military and technical skills.

The NCCC continues to work systematically to create a national cyber resilience ecosystem. The integration of cyber competitions into the structure of military-technological sports is another important step towards the formation of a modern defense model in which sports, science and technology work for a common goal - the defense of Ukraine.