The draft bill on Ukraine’s national security foresees the country’s military for the first time as being under control of a civilian defense minister, in line with the practices in Western and NATO countries.
The text of the bill seen by the Kyiv Post, which was drafted by Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council and the Presidential Administration, with the help of Western advisers, was reviewed behind closed doors during a NSDC meeting on Jan. 17
The council’s chairman, Oleksandr Turchynov, said after the meeting that the bill would “summarize both the completed and scheduled reforms… including in terms of democratic civilian control and general planning.”
Turchynov said NATO, U.S. and European Union experts helped draw up the bill. The document is being informally reviewed by the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, the NATO Liaison Office in Ukraine, and the European Union Advisory Mission, a source connected to the drafting of the bill told the Kyiv Post.
The bill is expected to be submitted to parliament by President Petro Poroshenko soon, although an exact date has yet to be set.
Civilian minister
The bill stipulates that the defense minister must be a civilian. Ultimate strategic decision-making on defense will thus fall to the country’s civilian political leadership, rather than professional military officers, who will instead advise the government and carry out its defense policies.
Having a civilian as defense minister is seen as a protective measure against military dictatorship, and is common among Western nations. Ukraine’s current defense minister, Stepan Poltorak, is a military serviceman with the rank of general, while most of his predecessors were either serving or former senior officers in the Ukrainian military.
According to the bill, the defense minister is nominated by the president and approved by the Rada, and must be a civilian who left active military service at least five years before being nominated – although this restriction can be overridden with parliament’s consent.
The defense minister, as a member of Cabinet of Ministers and the National Security and Defense Council, determines the nation’s defense policies and planning, manages the defense budget, monitors the effectiveness of its use, and is accountable to parliament, the draft bill says. The deputy defense minister must also be a civilian.
According to the draft bill, a civilian defense minister must be in place by Jan. 1, 2019.
Excess secrecy
The bill also aims to cut away waste and secrecy in the defense sector, which is widely viewed as being one of Ukraine’s most corrupt. Under it, the country’s defense and security agencies would be accountable directly to the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, for the spending of budget funds.
The draft bill seen by the Kyiv Post says that the security and defense agencies will have to provide parliament with detailed annual reports on spending allocated budget funds, as well as their activities and accomplishments. The Rada will also gain new powers to authorize defense appropriations and set the size of the army.
Parliament will also set up special permanent committees and commissions on security and defense, and a separate parliamentary panel is to be created to oversee the SBU security service and other special agencies.
To keep the public well informed, defense sector bodies will have to jointly issue a public report at least every three years. Citizens would also have the right to more information about the defense sector, which in the past has come in for criticism for its excessive secrecy.
According to Viktor Plakhuta, a chief executive officer with the Ukrainian Freedom Fund think tank, as much as 95 percent of Ukraine’s defense sector remains hidden from public scrutiny due to unwarranted secrecy, which shields widespread corruption in military procurement.
However, the draft bill still does not do enough to strip away the excessive secrecy surrounding the sector.
Chain of command
The bill also brings the military’s chain of command into line with NATO standards, as foreseen in the Strategic Defensive Bulletin, a comprehensive roadmap of Ukraine’s security reforms through 2020, which was approved by Poroshenko back in June 2016.
Starting from Jan. 1, 2021, highest commanding position in the army will be the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The post Chief of the General Staff, which is currently held by General Viktor Muzhenko, moves down one link in the chain of command, and the General Staff will instead take charge of everyday support, maintenance, and training of the armed forces. It will subsequently be integrated into the Ministry of Defense.
In military operations, Ukraine’s entire armed forces – the Ground, Air, Special Operations, Air Assault, and Naval branches – will be commanded by the Joint Operation Headquarters, the head of which will be the country’s top battlefield commander. In turn, the commanders of each branch will be responsible for maintaining combat effectiveness of their troops and for developing tactical doctrines.
The head of the Joint Operation Headquarters and the Chief of the General Staff will report directly to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
According to the Strategic Defensive Bulletin, this NATO-style command structure will eliminate the current duplication of functions between the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff, and bring a clear division of authorities in the military.
Lastly, in line with the Nation’s Defense Doctrine, the draft bill stipulates defense spending of at least 5 percent annual gross domestic product, including not less than 3 percent on the armed forces and 0.5 percent on the development of Ukraine’s defense industries.
