РНБОУ National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine

Oleksandr Turchynov: A strong Ukrainian state is the guarantee of our independence and dynamic development, it is a common cause of all Ukrainian people

A strong Ukrainian state is the guarantee of our independence and dynamic development, it is a common cause of all Ukrainian people. This was stated by Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov during his speech at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy to the participants of the international professional development program for top executive-level officials in the security and defense sector.

"The world realized that despite sanctions and economic woes the Russian Federation will long remain a source of aggression, security threats, and a generator of instability in the world, - Mr. Turchynov emphasized. - In this situation, we need to define our priorities clearly".

According to Secretary of the NSDC of Ukraine, the most important of these priorities should be to build a "strong national state that aims to protect the vital interests of Ukrainians, state sovereignty, freedom, and dignity, to ensure economic development and social progress".

"Only force can stop hard power. Only a state can stop the aggression of another state", - he stated. "Only those strong, those who defend themselves, receive help. We look forward to our partners' support but we have to rely primarily on our own strength", - Mr. Turchynov added.

Secretary of the NSDC of Ukraine noticed that Ukraine needs efficient Armed Forces capable of protecting their Homeland. The main directions of their development, he said, were set out in the National Security Strategy, the Military Doctrine, and the Strategic Defense Bulletin. "These ideas will be enshrined in the new national security law developed in close cooperation with our foreign partners", - Oleksandr Turchynov informed.

Another crucial task Secretary of the NSDC Council named is to develop the capacity of intelligence and law enforcement agencies.

"The reserve of partial improvements is almost exhausted. We need resolute and consistent actions. It is not easy to decide on them but they are the only recipe for the survival of independent Ukraine. And most importantly, - those should not be unsystematic emotional outbursts, even motivated by the best patriotic feelings, but a systematic, highly professional activities to achieve a common goal. It is essential to continue the reform course, not fly off the handle to vain and destructive populism", - Mr. Turchynov stated.

"The main task of our state is to protect every citizen, every family from the horrors of war and tyranny", - Secretary of the NSDC of Ukraine noted.

"Ukraine has every reason not only to survive but to become a regional leader capable of protecting not only itself but its allies as well. Only a strong, independent, national state can force to reckon with its interests, to change the attitude towards itself, - Mr. Turchynov pointed out. - A strong Ukrainian state is the guarantee of our independence and dynamic development, it is a common cause of all Ukrainian people".