Oleksiy Danilov: Building democracy is not easy, and it is even more difficult in times of war
Building democracy is a difficult process, and in times of war, it is much more difficult. Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov stated this in his speech at the plenary session “Coordination in the context of modern security challenges” within the framework of the conference of heads of Ukraine’s foreign diplomatic missions “Diplomacy 30. Strategy of Strong State”.
The conference is being held at the initiative of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ivano-Frankivsk.
Speaking about the aggravating situation in the East of Ukraine due to Russia’s aggressive actions, particularly the troops buildup on the Ukrainian-Russian border, Mr. Danilov stressed that Ukraine is fully aware of the threat and is ready to give the aggressor an adequate response. “Every country should have its own plan, we should have our own. There should be calmness, confidence, and decision-making based on all available information”, - he said.
According to him, building democracy is a difficult process, and “building democracy in times of war it is much more difficult”.
The NSDC Secretary stressed that Russian aggression is not limited to the military dimension. “The main goal for them is the internal destabilization of our country”, - he said, noticing that aggressive actions also include the cyber component, energy warfare, information warfare and more.
The NSDC Secretary stressed that from January 1, 2022, the Law of Ukraine “On the Fundamentals of National Resistance" will be “fully operational”, which will significantly strengthen our state’s capabilities to resist the aggressor.
During Mr. Danilov’s discussion with the heads of foreign diplomatic missions of Ukraine, the issues of mobilization of international support for our state in its counteraction to Russia’s hybrid aggression, renovation of the EU sanctions policy against the Russian Federation, developing cybersecurity cooperation (in particular, Ukraine’s joining the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Centre of Excellence, CCDCOE), energy security issues, etc. were discussed.