In his address to the leadership of the MoD of Ukraine and the General Staff, the Minister Andriy Taran emphasized that the Ukraine's Army would not be able to fully adapt to NATO standards in the near future, which led to a free interpretation of this statement by some media.
Therefore, there is a need to clarify some aspects of this statement, MoD press-secretary said.
“NATO is an international, intergovernmental security organization established to provide and support peace in the Euro-Atlantic region. In 2018, Ukraine adopted amendments to the Constitution, which clearly defined the course for European and Euro-Atlantic integration. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine follows this strategic course and steadily ensures the implementation of the mechanisms, structures and approaches adopted in NATO member states. This process has been going on systematically since 1994, when Ukraine joined the Partnership for Peace program. "
The press-secretary of the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Svitlana Pavlovska noted, in particular, that in order to achieve this goal and the interoperability between the defense forces of Ukraine and NATO member states, Ukraine participates in the development of the partnership goals, which are the basis for the implementation of the necessary NATO documents, which today are represented in the form of Doctrines, standards and directives. They need to be implemented in the Ukrainian Army.
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has set up a clear process for monitoring the conduct of NATO standards in the activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. For this purpose, the Directorate of Standardization, Codification and Cataloging was established at the Ministry of Defense, Svitlana Pavlovska said .
She explained that NATO standard is a normative legal act, which is the equivalent of orders, directives, guidelines that regulate a particular area of activity of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. NATO has allied publications, policies and other standardized documents, respectively.
None of the 29 NATO member states has yet to implement all of the current NATO standards. For example, Germany, when putting into effect a particular standard, often uses the so-called implementation with the restriction, which attributed to the need to adapt the standards to national conditions and the availability of the necessary forces and means to ensure compliance with this standard, said Svitlana Pavlovska.
A spokeswoman for the Minister of Defense of Ukraine said that in 2019, NATO has completed the next cycle of the force planning and evaluation process. New partnerships for 2020-2021 will be identified this year.
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine is doing its utmost to ensure that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are as fully compatible with the NATO member states forces during joint NATO-led operations and missions.
Svitlana Pavlovska also stressed that the country as a whole is joining NATO, since the changes will affect the entire system of the state, not just its Armed Forces. She stressed that any manipulation of the subject for the purpose of PR is inadmissible.