President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy put into effect the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of the country to adopt a strategy for the military security of the state. 

The document was submitted to the government for consideration in December 2020 by the Ministry of Defense.

In January 2021, the strategy received the support of the Ukrainian Cabinet.

As the head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense Andriy Taran said earlier, the strategy should replace the military doctrine of Ukraine.

The document proposes to consolidate the concept of integrated defense, to which it is planned to involve not only the army, but also "all components of the security and defense sector and civil society."

"Consistent with Washington's rhetoric"

As reported on the website of the President of Ukraine, such a document has been prepared in the country for the first time and aims to "protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine."

At the same time, the authors of the document call Russia the country that allegedly threatens Ukraine.

The strategy states that the Russian Federation "remains a military enemy of Ukraine" at the national level, since it allegedly carries out "armed aggression" and is waging a hybrid war against Ukraine. 

According to the authors of the document, due to Russia's actions at the regional level, the greatest threat is posed by the likelihood of destabilization of the situation in the Baltic, Black Sea, Caucasian regions, as well as in the Balkans and Eastern Europe.

Moscow is also accused of "temporary occupation of a part of the territory of Ukraine and Georgia", "militarization" of Crimea, "obstruction of free shipping in the Black and Azov Seas" and alleged attempts to "keep Belarus in its sphere of political influence".

In addition, Russia is accused of building up "offensive military groups", "deploying new missile weapons" and conducting "large-scale military exercises on its western borders."

At the same time, Ukraine does not set itself the goal of achieving military parity with Russia, as this would lead to excessive militarization of the country.

At the same time, among the goals of Kiev in the defense sphere is called "the termination of the temporary occupation by the Russian Federation of part of the territories of Ukraine."

In addition, according to the authors of the document, the implementation of the strategy will contribute to Ukraine's integration into the Euro-Atlantic space and the acquisition of NATO membership.

This will allegedly be facilitated by the active participation of Ukraine in international operations "to maintain peace and security."

  • Vladimir Zelensky

  • Reuters

  • © Ukrainian Presidential Press Service

At the same time, the priority for the country in the defense sphere is called "the introduction of a unified leadership in the preparation and conduct of a comprehensive defense", the development of the institutional capacities of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.

According to experts, the Ukrainian authorities have created an anti-Russian doctrine aimed at military confrontation with the Russian Federation, following the channel of US foreign policy.

As military expert Alexei Leonkov noted in an interview with RT, the Ukrainian security strategy in a number of points completely repeats NATO doctrines.

“The thesis that Russia should moderate its ambitions in the Black Sea was spelled out in the reports of the RAND corporation for NATO.

The goal of the alliance is to create military alliances in the region that would undermine this zone from the inside.

And the same motives can be traced in the Ukrainian military strategy.

All countries that talk about the allegedly negative role of Russia in the Black Sea and Baltic regions are simply echoing the doctrinal documents of the United States and NATO, ”the expert said.

A similar point of view is shared by the Deputy Director of the Institute of CIS Countries Vladimir Zharikhin.

“The new defense concept of Ukraine presupposes the solution of Kiev's tasks in this area with the support of external forces.

Therefore, many points of the document are so consonant with the rhetoric of Washington and NATO, ”the expert emphasized in a commentary on RT.

Waiting in the hallway

At the same time, unresolved territorial disputes are a serious obstacle to Ukraine's entry into NATO, experts remind.

“Although it is unsubstantiated, Kiev declares the presence of Russian troops on Ukrainian territory, says that it is in a state of war with Russia.

Accordingly, the issue of joining the alliance depends little on the implementation by Ukraine of the reforms prescribed by NATO, and this is a matter of at least a very distant future, ”Leonkov explained.

Vladimir Zharikhin adheres to a similar opinion.

The expert doubts Ukraine's chances of integrating into NATO due to the military conflict in Donbass.

“Rather, Washington can conclude a bilateral agreement on military cooperation with Kiev.

As part of the bilateral partnership, the United States is already building its bases on Ukrainian territory, but the United States will not solve the problems of Ukraine, ”added Volodymyr Zharikhin.

  • Ukrainian soldiers during a ceremony to mark the start of a three-week training exercise for Ukrainian soldiers.

  • globallookpress.com

  • © Serhii Hudak / ZUMAPRESS.com

An RT source in the Batkivshchyna party believes that the text of the Ukrainian military security strategy speaks of the isolation of official Kiev from reality.

“It follows from the strategy that by simply calling Russia an enemy, Ukraine will almost automatically become a NATO member.

It's just ridiculous, ”the source said.

Let us recall that cooperation between Kiev and NATO began back in 1991, when Ukraine joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council.

In 1994, Kiev joined the Partnership for Peace program.

In 1997, Ukraine and the North Atlantic Alliance signed a Charter on a Distinctive Partnership, at the same time the NATO-Ukraine Commission (NUC) was established.

NATO's strategic agreement to admit Ukraine was confirmed in 2008 during the NATO summit in Bucharest.

The 2014 coup strengthened Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations.

In 2017, the country's authorities adopted a law securing the priority of Ukraine's integration into the EU and NATO.

Subsequently, these points were included in the Constitution of the country.  

We will remind, since 2014, the military-political conflict in the south-east of Ukraine continues.

The confrontation was provoked by the coup d'etat of 2014, as a result of which radical anti-Russian forces came to power in the country.

So, one of the first decisions of the new Rada in February 2014 was the abolition of the language law, which endowed the Russian language with the status of a regional one.

In response to these events, unrest broke out in the Russian-speaking Donbass.

In mid-April 2014, Kiev authorized a military operation against the insurgent population of the southeast.

Active military clashes began in the region.

In May, referendums on self-determination were held in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

As a result of the vote, independent Lugansk and Donetsk people's republics were proclaimed.

Against this background, the military confrontation only intensified.

Foreign countries - Russia, France and Germany - joined in the settlement of the situation, which, together with Ukraine, made up the Normandy Four.

In early 2015, the parties signed the Minsk Agreements - a detailed plan for a military and political settlement of the situation in Donbass.

However, Kiev has not yet fulfilled most of the political conditions laid down in the document.

The parties only managed to achieve an end to the fighting on the line of contact and to disperse forces in several areas. 

At the same time, Kiev still refuses to conduct a dialogue with the self-proclaimed republics and calls Russia a party to the conflict. 

  • Ukrainian servicemen are firing from an artillery gun in the direction of the positions of the armed forces of the Donetsk People's Republic in the Novolugansk area of ​​the Donetsk region

  • © REUTERS / Maksim Levin

The Kiev coup also caused unrest in Crimea in 2014.

Even before the change of power in Ukraine, in early February, the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (ARC) decided to initiate an all-Crimean referendum on the status of the peninsula.

The plebiscite took place on March 16.

The overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of the peninsula voted for reunification with Russia.

Since then, the Ukrainian authorities have not given up hope of returning the peninsula to Ukrainian jurisdiction.

So, on March 24, 2021, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy approved the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine on a strategy to "return" Crimea.

The document includes a set of measures of a diplomatic, military, economic, informational, humanitarian and other nature, which are aimed at restoring the "territorial integrity" of Ukraine. 

System deadlock

According to Vladimir Zharikhin, the military security strategy is designed for an unlikely scenario when Russia stops supporting Donbass, and Ukraine will somehow return Crimea.

“This suggests that the Ukrainian leadership is at a systemic impasse.

Since there are no real results of Zelensky's activities and are not expected, cases are replaced by loud and categorical plans, ”the expert explained.

A similar opinion was expressed in an interview with RT by a source at the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

“The new strategy practically does not differ from the Military Doctrine, which was approved by the previous president, Petro Poroshenko.

Rather, it is a PR move for Western partners who should help Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

Specifically, to give new loans.

You can publish at least a thousand documents, but how will they help return Crimea and Donbass?

Ukraine, on the other hand, directly admits that it is not in a position to fight with Russia.

I don't see much sense in this paper, ”he said.

A source of RT in the Armed Forces of Ukraine agrees with him.

“The new document is an imitation of activity, so that in response to the question why the hostilities in the southeast dragged on for years, one could show another piece of paper.

There are no specific terms specified in it.

This means that it will take centuries to return Donbass and Crimea.

The main thing is to change the dates on military doctrines and strategies in time, ”he summed up.