Oleksiy Danilov: The level of financing for the security and defense sector in the 2021 budget cannot be reduced

Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov held a meeting on the defense budget for 2021.

First Deputy Secretary of the NSDC of Ukraine Colonel-General Mykhailo Koval, Deputy Head of the Office of the President Roman Mashovets, Vice Prime Minister - Minister for Strategic Industries of Ukraine Oleh Urusky, First Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Ivan Rusnak, First Deputy Minister of Finance Denys Ulyutin, Deputy Minister for Economic Development, Trade, and Agriculture of Ukraine Svitlana Panaiotidi, Deputy Head of the Security Service of Ukraine Oleksandr Yakushev, State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Oleksiy Takhtay, Head of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine Valeriy Kondratyuk, Head of the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine Yuriy Shchyhol, Head of the Main Intelligence Department of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of the Department of the State Guard of Ukraine Serhiy Rud.

Mr. Danilov called the ongoing military aggression in the East of Ukraine one of the key threats to national security.

The NSDC Secretary stressed the importance of rearmament of the army, strengthening intelligence capabilities, cybersecurity, and support for the domestic defense industry.

At the same time, Mr. Danilov noted that given the existing threats, it is impossible to reduce the current level of funding for the security and defense sector.

The participants of the meeting discussed the needs of the subjects of the security and defense sector for funding for the next year, emphasizing the priority areas.

Following the discussion, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine was instructed to shortly work out the possibility of increasing funding for national security and defense needs.

A regular meeting on this issue is scheduled for the nearest future.