President's Office Dpty Head Mashovets, U.S. diplomats discuss reforming Ukraine's security-defense sector
Deputy Head of the President's Office of Ukraine Roman Mashovets met with representatives of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, in particular with Defense Attaché Brittany Stewart, during which the issue of reforming the security and defense sector of Ukraine was discussed, the presidential press service said.
"The interlocutors touched upon key issues of reforming the security and defense sector of Ukraine, in particular on improving the system of military command and control, defense planning, strengthening democratic civilian control over the defense forces and distributing powers between the Defense Minister of Ukraine and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces," the office said.
According to the statement, these issues are planned to be settled by the bill on amendments to certain laws of Ukraine concerning the improvement of defense planning procedures, which is being processed by the Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence and is being prepared for second reading in the Verkhovna Rada.
It is reported that during the meeting, they also discussed the preparation of the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the United States and the preparation of bilateral agreements to deepen Ukrainian-U.S. defense cooperation, develop research and test projects, and provide the U.S. security assistance to Ukraine.
"Roman Mashovets said the decision, promulgated on June 11 of this year by the U.S. Department of Defense, to provide the second part of assistance within the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative worth $150 million, is important for strengthening the Ukrainian defense capability," the President's Office said.
Meanwhile, the President's Office deputy head also informed the U.S. side about the progress of the reform of the military and industrial complex and the preparation of the Strategy for the Development of the Defense Industry Complex of Ukraine for approval by the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC).
"Roman Mashovets said the approach to the management system of state-owned property in the defense industry is changing, the ultimate goal of which is to create two vertically integrated structures – public management holding companies. Following the reform, the Ukrainian defense industry should become more efficient, transparent and open for international cooperation, including with the United States," the President's Office said.
In turn, Stewart spoke about the work carried out by the U.S. Embassy in preparation for the visit of Zelensky to the United States, and assured of the continued support of the Ukrainian security and defense sector.