2025 Global Teacher Prize Ukraine Winner!

First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska joined educators and dignitaries at the 2025 Global Teacher Prize Ukraine award ceremony, held by the NGO Osvitoria to mark Education Workers’ Day. The event celebrated the dedication and innovation of teachers across the country, with this year’s top honour going to Ruslan Shalamov from Kharkiv, named Ukraine’s Best Teacher for 2025. Shalamov received a prize of UAH 1 million to bring his educational vision to life.

Olena Zelenska had the honour of announcing the winner of the “Ukrainians’ Choice” category, awarded through a public vote on the Diia.Osvita platform. More than 10,000 Ukrainians took part, selecting Yurii Pakhomov, a chemistry teacher from Ivano-Frankivsk, whose creative lessons connect science to real-world impact. His projects have raised hundreds of thousands of hryvnias to support Ukrainian defenders. “Yurii Pakhomov believes that if a teacher can answer a child’s question, even one beyond the subject, the lesson was not in vain. Because the teacher helped the child. And that is the teacher’s mission, to help,” the First Lady said during the ceremony.

Winners were also recognised across categories such as Preschool Education, Mathematics, Chemistry, Computer Science, and Inclusion, alongside three special awardees under the Talents For Ukraine grant program of the KSE Foundation. Reflecting on the occasion, Zelenska described the event as “a living expression of gratitude” to teachers. “Today, we all lack light,” she said. “And when a child leaves school shining, coming home inspired, we understand they were given not only knowledge, but also the light of hope and faith in life.” Since 2017, the Global Teacher Prize Ukraine has celebrated teachers as true agents of change, recognising both their educational and social impact.

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