Oleksiy Danilov: Increase in the financing of the security and defense sector bodies is the principled stance of the President of Ukraine

At its meeting on Friday chaired by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine approved proposals to the draft law on the State Budget for 2022 in regards to articles related to national security and defense of Ukraine.

Secretary of the NSDC of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov announced this at a briefing after the meeting.

“Despite the challenging financial situation, when all ministries and agencies need additional funding, the President of Ukraine has decided to increase financing of the security and defense sector compared to 2021, - he said. - If in 2021 this sector was financed in the amount of 5,93% of GDP, then in 2022 this figure will be increased and approved at the level of 5,95% of GDP, which should amount to 319,4 billion hryvnias”.

According to the NSDC Secretary, this should provide funding for the tasks set by the NSDC decisions on the appropriate level of social protection of servicemen, including housing, programs on developing missile weapons and the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and other tasks.

The NSDC also suggested the President of Ukraine to consider admission to the territory of our country of the armed forces of partner countries – the United States, other NATO member states and participants of the “Partnership for Peace” program, to participate in the multinational exercise “Joint Endeavour – 2021” in the framework of military cooperation.

The training will start next week, Mr. Danilov added.

Mr. Danilov said that the NSDC had imposed sanctions in connection with the elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation in the temporarily occupied territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and in Crimea. “Russia has no right to hold elections in these territories, - he stated. - Therefore, all participants in this process – members of election commissions, agitators, candidates, all those who are officials in this election, will be under the sanctions of our country”.

“Today we have drafted the first list of such people”, - Mr. Danilov said. Sanctions were imposed on 53 members of territorial election commissions, 33 candidates for deputies of the State Duma of the Russian Federation.

In addition, the NSDC of Ukraine has imposed sanctions on 7 officials of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation involved in the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Oleksiy Navalny.

The NSDC Secretary added that sanctions would be imposed on international observers who would take part in “this farce”.

Moreover, information on implementing the protocol resolution of the NSDC meeting of July 16, 2021, on the development of proposals for the implementation of a system for monitoring the activities of persons who have significant economic or political weight in public life (oligarchs).

“Experts of the NSDC Staff have developed and put into operation in August 2021 a modern information and analytical system “COTA” of the Main Situation Center of the country”, - Mr. Danilov said. According to the NSDC Secretary, this unique system of the 3rd class and the highest level of complexity “has three contours of information processing: public, for internal use and secret, and it is fully operational”.

Thus, he said, the Council’s Staff has created all the necessary conditions for maintaining a register and implementing a system for monitoring the activities of oligarchs after the adoption by the Parliament of the Law of Ukraine on the prevention of threats to national security related to the excessive influence of persons who have significant economic or political weight in public life.

The NSDC Secretary also said that the issue of implementation of the Presidential Decrees was considered during the meeting. According to Mr. Danilov, the importance of increasing executive discipline and strict implementation of the Decrees of the President of Ukraine and the NSDC decisions was emphasized.

According to Mr. Danilov, the President of Ukraine instructed him to ensure control over the preparation of reports by responsible executors on the implementation of Presidential Decrees for consideration at subsequent meetings.

In addition, the NSDC heard information from the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine on the status of implementing the NSDC decisions on the application of sanctions.