Back to school for Kyiv's cadets

It’s back to school at Boarding School Number 23 in Kyiv.

And despite their young ages, some of the male pupils at this Ukrainian cadet academy are already starting to think about a future military career.

Boys and girls aged six to 18 attend the school, otherwise known as the Lyceum Cadet Corpus.

One cadet spoke with pride about his uniform and future ambition:

“This belt buckle is just for decoration, and here are my medals. We’re going to be colonels – the shoulder straps will look different and the uniform will, too. I want to be a general!”

Another cadet said:

“I want to defend my country from the Russians. This is a big war. Many people have been injured.”

National Guard soldiers teach classes at the school and the conflict in eastern Ukraine is a much-discussed topic.

Speaking about the Ukrainian soldiers fighting in the east, one female pupil said:

“I don’t want them to die. I want their mothers and children to be happy.”

While the boys are taking cadet lessons, the girls are taught to bake so they can send food to wounded soldiers at the Kyiv military hospital.