Oleksandr Turchynov: Ukraine should be proud of not only its space past but also of its space present and future

Ukraine should be proud of not only its space past but also of its space present and future. This was stated by Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov while he was presenting the new head of the State Space Agency of Ukraine Pavlo Degtiarenko on Thursday.

Secretary of the NSDC of Ukraine noted that "not everyone in the world is happy with our space programs". "There are constant attempts, primarily of the Russian Federation, to discredit our country, to stop or block our missile-space programs. And the latest provocations around this matter once again proved that", - he said.

At the same time, Mr. Turchynov noticed that "despite all the problems, we must confidently look into the future". "Without a powerful missile-space complex, we will not be a high-tech country, we will not have a reliable, effective defense and security system", - he stated.

According to Secretary of the NSDC of Ukraine, to fulfill this important task, it is necessary to get rid of crisis problems at strategic enterprises of the industry. In this context, Mr. Turchynov pointed out that the Government has already taken the first steps towards the creation of powerful concerns and research-production associations that will focus on the accomplishment of the tasks set.

To the NSDC Secretary's conviction, the role of the State Space Agency should change: "It should not be a mediator between the state budget and enterprises, but design the future of the industry, ensure international ties and contracts". Oleksandr Turchynov also stressed the need for a large-scale technological update of strategic domestic enterprises, which is impossible without "serious investments, the search for reliable promising partners, corporatization of enterprises and the corresponding changes in legislation in order to give the industry a new breath".

Among the priority tasks, the NSDC Secretary mentioned the implementation of "major defense programs related to the production of new powerful missile systems and the qualitative improvement of positions in space intelligence".

"We do not have much time, we need innovative solutions and specific results. The tasks are very serious, but we can solve them", - he concluded.