РНБОУ National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine

The Staff of the NSDC of Ukraine, with the support of the U.S. Department оf State, held a five-day workshop for specialists of critical infrastructure enterprises

The Staff of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine and the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine together with the U.S. Department of State Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation’s Office of Cooperative Threat Reduction held a five-day seminar «Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience» for the specialists of state-based and private critical infrastructure facilities.

The event was also supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the U.S. Civilian Research & Development Foundation (CRDF Global).

"The protection of critical infrastructure has always been a priority for the state, and it became especially important during a full-scale military invasion by a terrorist country. No country in the world has had such an experience as Ukraine is experiencing now, unfortunately. That is why we are grateful to all partners who help us today to protect and restore our critical infrastructure objects during the aggression from the russian federation, and to build the stability of our state," said Iryna Tymoshenko, Head of the critical infrastructure security service of Staff of the NSDC of Ukraine, opening the event.

The purpose of the training is to build the capacity and stability of Ukrainian critical infrastructure facilities, as well as their interaction both at the level of individual facilities and at the national level.

«We appreciate the opportunity for this valuable exchange of information and best practices to enhance security and resilience, which we plan to use for future events,» said Kaitlin Jewell, Associate Director of CISA International.

Vladlen Basisty, operational manager of the CRDF Global Ukraine Security Promotion Program, said that this workshop became a valuable source of learning and sharing professional experience for all participants, and is a new milestone in cooperation, coordination and dialogue aimed at strengthening critical infrastructure in Ukraine.

"The task before us is to improve legislation, which should cover the full cycle of strategic planning and management, taking into account the principles and areas of ensuring national resilience at all levels — national, regional, local, and on-site,» said Andrii Chotchykov, Director of the SSSCIP Critical Infrastructure Protection Department.

The workshop included various interactive sessions, lectures, discussions and group sessions led by CISA experts. In addition, the participants had the opportunity to exchange experiences and take part in discussions on joint efforts in the respective fields.

About twenty participants took part in the event. Among them are representatives of the NSDC Staff, the SSSCIP, the SBU, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine, “Ukrtransgaz”, “Ukrenergo”, “Naftogaz of Ukraine”, the Center for Security Studies of the National Institute for Strategic Studies, etc.