The Federation of Military Technology Sports of Ukraine has entered into a partnership with SET University aimed at boosting cybersecurity through educational initiatives, Capture The Flag (CTF) competitions, and training specialists for international tournaments.
"Military technology sports are relevant today. Ukraine has become the first country to officially recognize CTF as a sport, and we are actively working on establishing a national program for training cyber athletes. The Federation, along with state and technical partners, is creating a new infrastructure for cybersecurity through sports and education," noted Arthur Buligin, President of the Federation.
In 2025, CTF was officially recognized as a sport in Ukraine — a world first. Following this, the first regional competitions took place on July 26-27, where finalists were determined.
The competitions were held at the national cyber polygon Unit Range with support from Cyber Unit Technologies. Participants resolved tasks in categories such as Web, Crypto, Reverse, PWN, OSINT, Forensics, and completed a special challenge from Cyber Lab.
During the regional cybersecurity championships, the best teams from different regions were identified. In the Vinnytsia region, the Samurai team won, while Cyber Support took second place, and RCE Ninjas placed third. In the Rivne region, 0xRivne took first place, NUWM secured silver, and 404TEAM earned bronze. In Mykolaiv, the leading team was BARRACUDA, followed by Ghost in the Shellcode, and 0xMK UA took third.
These teams will represent their regions in the final of the Ukrainian Cybersecurity Championship in September 2025.
Additionally, an open tournament, CYBER UNIT UNITED, took place on July 26-27, gaining the status of a national selection stage. The competition winners were the dcua team, with ByteMe in second place, and dttua in third. Additional qualifications for the final of the Ukrainian Championship were awarded to teams: DNAcademy, Gongo, Exploit, Snufkink, XYZ.NXT, 0xSum, and LocalHost.
Regional competition prizewinners will advance to the final of the Ukrainian cyber competition. Their winners will form the backbone of the national team that will represent Ukraine at the European Cybersecurity Challenge 2025 in Poland. Furthermore, finalists will receive grants for a master's program in cybersecurity at SET University.
