What Future NGU Officers Need to Know About Modern Policing and EU cooperation
March 03, 2025
A classroom full of young cadets in uniform. Notebooks open, eyes focused. They are the future officers of Ukraine’s National Guard (NGU), and today’s lesson is about policing—the kind that keeps communities safe in wartime and beyond.
The NGU is evolving, moving closer to European policing standards and proceedures. Educating future officers is key to building a professional force that earns public trust. To support these efforts, the EU Advisory Mission (EUAM) Ukraine held a workshop for cadets at the NGU Kyiv Institute on 26 February. Future National Guard officers took part in lectures on stability policing, community policing, and police cooperation in the EU.
“NGU has become one of our counterparts because of the police capabilities they are performing within civilian security sector. It is therefore important to train their cadets in these subjects, in accordance with EU standards and the police procedures of the 27 EU Member States,” said Andrés López López, EUAM’s General Policing Adviser.
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, the NGU has taken on new responsibilities, providing together with the National Police of Ukraine (NPU) security in liberated areas and maintaining public order there. Officers must enforce the law in regions where institutions have been disrupted by war, prevent crime, and build trust with local communities. Understanding and implementing the Stability policing – a concept introduced to the NGU and NPU last year with support from the European Gendarmerie Force – is crucial in these efforts.
Community policing, another focus of the workshop, is also increasingly important. As millions of Ukrainians have been displaced and cities remain under threat, cooperation between law enforcers and citizens has never been more vital. Strengthening ties with local communities is essential for long-term security.
Learning about EU police cooperation mechanisms prepares Ukraine for deeper integration with European law enforcement structures. Closer cooperation with EU agencies is already underway. Workshops like this help train the next generation of officers in European standards and EU police procedures.
For the cadets, the workshop was an opportunity to learn from European experts and apply these lessons to their future roles. For EUAM Ukraine, it was another step in strengthening the NGU’s capabilities, ensuring that its officers are prepared to serve and protect their communities—both now and in the future.
