Holding local elections in some communities in Donetsk and Luhansk regions is currently impossible, as hostilities are ongoing in the region, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Oleksiy Danilov said on Wednesday.

"This is not about the state's unwillingness to hold elections, it is about the fact that a war has been going on in our country for seven years now, and this is a forced step by the state to respond to the situation created by the Russian Federation by occupying part of the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions," the press service of the NSDC said, citing Danilov's words during the discussion "Elections in Donbas and the Right for Local Self-Government" at the OPORA Civil Network forum entitled "Electoral Reform: Assessment Through the Prism of Values, Political Rights, and Quality of Procedures".

At the same time, according to Danilov, in 18 communities of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, in which local elections did not take place, the provision of all necessary public services to citizens is fully ensured.

The NSDC Secretary noted that, according to the new National Security Strategy of Ukraine, the most important values for the state are the life, health and safety of its citizens.

"A person's life is the primary process in any action. There is no need to manipulate that someone has been deprived of the right to choose. This is a front-line territory, period," Danilov said.

He also pointed out the need to improve at the legislative level the procedure for elections in the communities located in the front-line territories.