National Security and Defense Council chaired by President discusses steps to ensure Ukraine's national security

National Security and Defense Council chaired by President discusses steps to ensure Ukraine's national security

The last meeting of the National Security and Defense Council in 2021, chaired by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was held, at which a number of issues were discussed, including the fight against external and internal threats.

Thus, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov reported on the priority steps to ensure national security to protect from internal and external threats.

Chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov and Head of the Foreign Intelligence Service Oleksandr Lytvynenko made reports on external threats, including the situation around Ukraine's state border and the nature of possible security challenges.

"There is a certain increase in the number of troops… We are monitoring what is happening near our border, it concerns the perimeter of 200 kilometers from our border, the next perimeter is 400 kilometers from our border," Danilov said at a briefing following a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council.

The mechanisms of implementation of the Defense Plan of Ukraine were also discussed at the meeting of the National Security and Defense Council with Minister of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov reporting on the issue. Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhny, for his part, reported on the readiness of the Armed Forces to perform its assigned tasks.

The plan to implement the Cybersecurity Strategy, which envisages making steps to strengthen the state's cyber security, was approved.

The issue of applying sanctions to six individuals and 24 companies involved in the construction of the Kerch Bridge was also considered.

In addition, at the meeting of the National Security and Defense Council, the President proposed a number of protocol instructions, including housing for servicemen and veterans, equalization of military salaries during the month and the possibility of synchronizing sanctions with Ukraine's international partners.

The National Security and Defense Council also supported the instructions of the Cabinet of Ministers to establish an interagency working group to verify the supply of weapons and food to the Armed Forces in the period of 2017-2021.