Estonia and Ukraine work together to modernise Ukrainian police education

With the support of the Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV), the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences has launched the ZytoPol project, which aims to support the modernisation of Ukrainian police education and strengthen the practical training capacity of the Zhytomyr Police Academy.  

The project, which began in March 2026 and will last until October 2027, focuses on the methodological renewal of Ukrainian police education. Estonian and Ukrainian experts will share knowledge on the development of police education, the organisation of practical training and the use of innovative teaching methods. As part of the broader field of education, improved police education will support the integration of the Ukrainian education system into the European Union education space.  

According to Marek Link, project manager for the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences, the project focuses on a practical, long-term goal – to ensure Ukrainian partners have developed the capacity to employ these improvements even after the end of the project.  

“ZytoPol is not just a knowledge-sharing project, but also a joint capability building project. Our goal is to support the Zhytomyr Police Academy so that they have their own simulation center, trained instructors and the ability to use simulation training in everyday police education,” said Link.  

ESTDEV’s representative in Ukraine, Toomas Tirs, participated in the project’s opening meeting at the Zhytomyr Police Academy in Ukraine in mid-May. He emphasised the importance of Estonian-Ukrainian cooperation in the field of internal security and the role of the project in building the capacity of the Zhytomyr Police Academy.  

“For ESTDEV, strengthening Ukraine’s internal security and preparing it for accession to the European Union has been a priority for several years. I am very pleased that a simulation center will be implemented as part of the Security Academy project, which will take police training to a new level, which fits in with the horizontal – digitalisation – approach for Estonia and thus ensures the long-term sustainability of the project,” said Tirs.  

As a result of the project, a virtual simulation center will be established at the Ukrainian academy, allowing for more practical and situation-based police training. The project will also train 10 Ukrainian instructors who will be able to start using modern simulation-based training methods in police training.  

“Simulation training helps to practice decision-making, cooperation and action in complex situations in a safe learning environment. These skills are crucial in police work. For Ukrainian partners, this is an opportunity to take training to a new level, and for us, an opportunity to learn from their experience of how police training works in wartime,” Link added.  

According to Colonel Maksim Kaptenko, head of the Zhytomyr Police Academy, cooperation with Estonian partners makes a significant contribution to the development of police education in Ukraine. “This is an important step in modernizing Ukrainian police education and developing more practical and technological learning. We are very grateful to our Estonian colleagues for their consistent support and cooperation, which helps us strengthen the training of future police officers even in difficult circumstances,” said Kaptenko. 

In addition to the creation of the simulation center, an important part of the project is the study and analysis of police education, which will contribute to the future modernisation of Ukrainian police education and joining the European Police Education Network. Meetings, seminars and expert exchanges will be held within the framework of the project to share best practices in organising police training and support methodological development.  

“What makes the ZytoPol project remarkable is how well modern and smart learning solutions and approaches have been implemented in the field of internal security. In this way, we help ensure versatile and safe training for situations where quick response, decision-making and cooperation save lives. Such cooperation projects with Ukrainian partners also create very valuable learning opportunities for us from Ukraine's experiences, thereby improving our internal security capabilities,” said ESTDEV’s head of Education Gertha Teidla-Kunitsõn. 

ZytoPol is the fourth ESTDEV-funded development cooperation project through which experts from the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences share their knowledge and experience with Ukrainian partners. Previously, Ukrainian prison officials have been trained to align with European standards, contributed to the establishment of Ukrainian border guard structures and organised children's camps for children of people working in the field of internal security in Ukraine.