Security and Defense Policy of Ukraine in the Main Provisions and Objectives of its Strategic Documents

Abstract

The research examines the three latest official documents concerning the security and defense policy of Ukraine: the National Security Strategy of Ukraine (2020), the Military Security Strategy of Ukraine (2021), and the Strategic Defense Bulletin (2021). The key research question of this chapter is whether these documents are in line with the nature of the tasks that is of primary importance for the country. The Strategy 2020 states that Ukraine will accelerate defense and security reforms according NATO principles, norms, and standarts. The implementation of strategy depends on substrategical documents (strategies and programs) that are to be adopted. Their adoption will determine wether it will become a valid planning tool or another bureaucratic response. The Strategy 2021 differs from previous similar documents in its detailed elaboration of the objectives, conditions, scenarios, and resources necessary for its successful implementation. The 2021 Defense Bulletin means continuation of the tradition of excessive secrecy in defense procurement. The official strategies have outlined the main threats to Ukraine’s security, but little attention has been paid to Ukraine’s internal vulnerabilities in the political, social, economic, informational, and military dimensions. All documents stress the “existential military threat from the Russian Federation” and not only for Ukraine: the aggressor country uses the Black Sea-Caspian Sea region and the occupied Crimea as a “bridge” to the Balkans, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and Central Africa.