РНБОУ National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine

Oleksandr Turchynov: The enhancement of security capacities should be carried out constantly and at different levels

The enhancement of security capacities should be carried out constantly and at different levels. This was stated by Secretary of National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov during his speech at the operational meeting of the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

According to him, the development of the Armed Forces and other military formations should be based on the best achievements of the leading armies of the world as well as on our own combat experience of the last three years. "We should provide not only a comprehensive study of the fighting experience in the ATO zone paid in human lives but its understanding and consideration in guidelines and military charters as well. It is unacceptable that philosophy laid in them remains unchanged", - Oleksandr Turchynov said.

To Mr. Turchynov's mind, another issue is the re-equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations, receiving and adopting new high-efficiency samples of weapons and military equipment capable of compensating for the voluntarily lost nuclear capability based on international treaties.

An important task in the security field, Secretary of the NSDC of Ukraine said, remains the increase of control, protection, and defense of the State border of Ukraine, consistent development of the capacity of the National Guard, the National Police, the development of their human resources, strengthening their technical supply.

Moreover, he stressed that the NSDC decision on the initiative of the President regarding the increase in salaries of military servicemen "is not a static, one-time act". "We cannot stop along this way not taking into account inflation factors and dynamics of the citizens' incomes growth in the country", - he noticed adding that salaries should not rise only due to increased premiums and bonuses.

Secretary of the NSDC of Ukraine spoke for the need of a permanent increase in salaries of military servicemen reminding that in the NATO armies, the main components in the structure of salaries of military personnel make up 70-80 percent.

Mr. Turchynov emphasized that the defense of Ukraine requires creating a reliable and highly-trained reserve ready to carry out combat tasks in providing resistance to the aggressor by a premeditated plan.

He also considers it necessary to build a system of territorial defense, in which all those bound to military service will take military training courses in special proving grounds, participate in gatherings and combat shakedowns of their units.

Among the priorities, the NSDC Secretary also named the military-patriotic education, military training and studying of the basics of civil defense both in general school and in higher educational institutions.

"Military service should open social ladder to youth, become a prerequisite for a political or public career, be socially prestigious and financially attractive", - he said.