Ukraine will be the first among NATO partner countries to receive an updated package of the Ukraine-NATO Partnership Goals, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said.

On May 28, 2021, a meeting of the Partnerships and Cooperative Security Committee (PCSC) took place in the format of the Planning and Assessment of Ukraine's Forces Process. The meeting was held in a combined format - in the conference room of NATO headquarters and online. The event was attended by delegations of Ukraine and the Alliance, according to the press and information department of the Ministry of Defense.

The Ukrainian delegation, headed by Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine for European Integration Anatoliy Petrenko, consisted of representatives of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, as well as the Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration.

The NATO delegation, which included representatives from member states, the Operations Department of the NATO International Staff, and the NATO International Military Staff (IMS), was led by the Alliance Assistant Secretary General for Operations John Manza.

Manza noted Ukraine's progress in reforming the security and defense sector, and meeting the Partnership Goals of the previous period. He said that Ukraine is and remains the most important partner of the Alliance, adding that NATO supports the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine. The NATO Assistant Secretary General said that the U.S. would continue assisting Ukraine in implementing the necessary reforms and developing the capabilities of the security and defense forces.

Petrenko, in turn, stressed: "The process of planning and assessing forces is one of the most effective tools for bringing Ukraine closer to NATO standards, strengthening the institutional capabilities of the defense department, developing the capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and acquiring interoperability," Petrenko noted.

The updated package of Partnership Goals for Ukraine contains tasks and activities for the period up to 2025. It also lists the forces and resources that Ukraine is preparing to participate in the Partnership for Peace program, operations and missions of the Alliance. The goals of the partnership support other tasks of reforming the defense and security sector, primarily defense reform projects and activities.

During the discussion in their comments, the representatives of Bulgaria, Great Britain, Denmark, Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the United States of America and France unanimously noted the progress of the defense reform in Ukraine, as well as the efforts that the military-political leadership of the state is making to approximate the standards and NATO principles. All speakers expressed undeniable support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and its Euro-Atlantic aspirations.

The meeting participants discussed the draft Partnership Goals and separately emphasized the importance of building a system of effective democratic civilian control, the need to subordinate the military components of the defense sector to the civilian ministry, further transforming the command and control system of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and achieving compatibility with NATO at the strategic and operational levels, which are key conditions for Ukraine's entry into the Alliance.

The delegations of Ukraine and the Alliance supported the proposed document and agreed to move on to the next stage of its coordination - sending it to the North Atlantic Council for consideration.