From November 20 to December 1, 2025, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, in collaboration with HackenProof, held the “First National CTF” online competition. The dcua team from the Educational and Research Institute of Physics and Technology (IPT) at Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (KPI) also took part and achieved the best result—taking first place in the highest level of the competition—the special League of Legends standings!
Mykola Ilyin, head of the dcua team and the KPI cyber community, head of the Laboratory of Technical Information Security, and associate professor at the IPT, tells a correspondent for “Kyiv Polytechnic” about how the competition unfolded and about the winning team.
– Similar tournaments have already taken place in the Ukrainian cyberspace, but this time the organizers announced the creation of a new nationwide format designed to unite and mobilize specialists and students working in the field of cybersecurity for coordinated GUR counteraction against the Russian Federation’s armed aggression.
The competition format demonstrated the high level of preparation among Ukrainian teams: nearly all the main tasks were solved within the first two to three days. This sparked a discussion regarding the sufficient complexity and number of tasks for the allotted period. On the fifth day, the organizers announced the introduction of an additional round of increased difficulty titled “League of Legends.” The round was positioned as decisive, allowing the strongest participants to be identified: there would be only one spot in the bonus round, and the level of endurance and professionalism would serve as a true test of belonging to the cyber elite; to quote the organizers, “That’s where it will become clear who’s the boss of this CTF”…
– And now—more details about the winners?
– The League of Legends victory went to the dcua team from the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute’s Faculty of Information Technology. It was this team that demonstrated the highest level of technical skill and unique expertise in cyber defense and cyber attack.
The team consisted of Andriy Voitsekhovsky, a graduate student and captain, and students Anna Proskurni, Anton Vasalatiy, Konstantin Puzikov, and Maksym Ginkul. I have led the team since its founding on February 24, 2012. I am constantly engaged in training new generations of dcua participants. The team’s training is systematic and continuous. Training takes place during weekly sessions of the information security club at the laboratory, as well as every weekend during participation in international competitions on the CTFtime platform. DCUA has maintained its leading position in Ukraine since its inception and ranks among the most decorated teams in the world, as evidenced by its historically high positions in global rankings.
– Mykola Ivanovych, in your opinion, what is the significance of such competitions, and what role does KPI play in the dcua team’s victories?
– dcua’s victory is inextricably linked to the educational environment at KPI, which provides students with a deep, fundamental education in the field of information security and related disciplines. The university creates conditions for developing practical skills, provides access to laboratories and research projects, supports the activities of student communities and clubs, and fosters a culture of continuity where experienced participants pass on their knowledge to younger generations. It is precisely this model of interaction between education, practice, and community that allows KPI students to achieve world-class results.
Such competitions play an important role in the development of Ukraine’s cyberspace. They popularize the profession, stimulate healthy competition, contribute to the training of new specialists, and increase the country’s human resources potential in the field of cyber defense. At a time when cybersecurity is one of the key areas of national defense capability, such initiatives are of particular importance.
The victory of the dcua student team demonstrates the high level of Ukrainian technical education and confirms that students of the IPT and KPI as a whole are capable of successfully completing tasks designed by military intelligence specialists. This underscores both the quality of the educational process and the potential of young specialists who are becoming an important part of building Ukraine’s future cyber resilience.