Ukraine has officially applied to join the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence (CCDCOE), which is based in Tallinn.

"On behalf of Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council [NSDC] of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov, the Ukrainian side made an official request to join the CCDCOE," a statement published on the NSDC website on Tuesday said.

On August 3, a delegation of the NSDC's National Coordination Center for Cybersecurity visited Estonia, where it held a series of bilateral meetings aimed at further promoting the two countries' cooperation in cybersecurity, the statement said.

Head of the Information Security and Cybersecurity Service of the NSDC Staff Natalia Tkachuk, who visited Estonia as a member of the Ukrainian delegation, said that such a step is relevant in the context of Ukraine's aspirations to join NATO.

"Ukraine's involvement in the CCDCOE can be an important step toward full NATO membership," the NSDC press service quoted Tkachuk as saying.

The participation of Ukrainian specialists in the CCDCOE will positively impact the effectiveness of its work and will help bolster the capabilities of Ukraine's national cybersecurity system, she said.

"The parties stressed that an effective step toward Ukraine's accession to the CCDCOE can be the involvement of Ukrainian experts in the work of CCDCOE thematic branches," the NSDC said.

Permanent Secretary at the Estonian Defense Ministry Kusti Salm, for his part, reiterated his country's readiness to facilitate Ukraine's accession to the CCDCOE. Undersecretary at Estonia's Defense Ministry Margus Matt, in turn, noted that Ukraine's experience in countering Russian cyberattacks is of significant interest to NATO. Estonia will continue supporting Ukraine in its Euro-Atlantic aspirations, Matt said.