31 July 2026
(PHOTO: Collage by Intent)
Mykola Babenko, Honored Teacher of Ukraine, Honorary Citizen of Kherson, and founder of the Kherson Physics and Technology Lyceum , has passed away .
According to the Education Department of the Kherson City Council, he died on July 30 at the age of 82 following a serious illness.
Mykola Babenko devoted more than 60 years to teaching. In 1989, he became the head of the Physics and Mathematics School, which was reorganized the following year into the Kherson Physics and Technology Lyceum.
The educator was the author and co-author of more than 20 scientific works. He held the titles of Honored Teacher of Ukraine and Distinguished Educator of Ukraine, and was also a recipient of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Award.
The Department of Education noted that Babenko will be remembered as a man of high integrity, a wise mentor, a demanding leader, and an educator who inspired and supported his students and colleagues.
His legacy will be carried on by graduates and educators who are currently working in Ukraine and abroad.
They added that the fond memory of Mykola Babenko will live on in his legacy, in the lyceum he founded, in the professional achievements of his colleagues, and in the accomplishments of students and alumni who today bring glory to Kherson and Ukraine throughout the world.
The Kherson Physics and Technology Lyceum —one of Ukraine’s most renowned secondary schools—was founded in 1990. It specializes in in-depth study of physics, mathematics, computer science, and the natural sciences, and has repeatedly been ranked among the country’s best lyceums.
Its students have regularly won national and international academic competitions, and its graduates have gone on to study at leading Ukrainian and foreign universities.
Recently, 48-year-oldvolunteer Olena Tarasenko died in Kherson after spending a month and a half in the hospital following a Russian shelling. During the city’s occupation, she evacuated people and survived Russian captivity.
Ірина Глухова