Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov introduced to the Parliament the draft law “On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On the State Special Transport Service”
Mr. Turchynov noticed that the draft law proposing to change the status of the State Special Transport Service was developed to implement the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine of September 13 this year, which clearly identified the need to ensure that from January 1, 2018, this Service would function in the system of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
"The current military-political situation requires efficient transport and logistic support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations in the conditions of countering Russian aggression", - he said. - The State Special Transport Service is a specialized paramilitary government body, therefore, to effectively ensure the country's defense needs, it should operate in an environment where one strategic center is responsible for decision-making".
Therefore, the NSDC Secretary said, there is a need to transfer the State Special Transport Service from subordination to the civilian Ministry of Infrastructure to direct subordination to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
Also, according to him, it is expected to determine the total number of this Service as 5000 people, of which 4600 would be servicemen. The corresponding proportion will increase the staff of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
In addition, Oleksandr Turchynov emphasized that the bill will contribute to solving the issues of social security of the personnel of the Service as servicemen in a single legal and regulatory framework.
According to the Secretary of the NSDC of Ukraine, the amendments proposed by the bill will enable: to coordinate the functions and tasks of the State Special Transport Service with the respective functions and tasks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine within the framework of a holistic system of the security and defense sector of Ukraine; to remove artificial administrative interagency barriers for the implementation of a unified military-technical policy; to avoid scattering funds from the country's defense budget.
"I am convinced that all conscious deputies should unite in support of the security and defense of our country. I ask you to approve this draft law in principle and in general, this is fundamentally important on the eve of voting for the budget of the country", - Secretary of the NSDC of Ukraine summarized.
232 people's deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine voted to adopt this legislative act in principle and in general.