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| Рада національної безпеки і оборони України | |
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 NSDC emblem | |
| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | 11 October 1991 |
| Preceding agency |
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| Jurisdiction |  Ukraine |
| Headquarters | 8,Petra Bolbochana Street, Kyiv,Ukraine, 01601[1] |
| Agency executives |
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| Parent agency | President of Ukraine |
| Website | rnbo.gov.ua/en |
TheNational Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, (abbr.NSDCU;Ukrainian:Рада національної безпеки і оборони України,romanized: Rada natsionalnoyi bezpeky i oboroni Ukrayiny,RNBOU) orRNBO, is the coordinating state body of the executive power under thePresident of Ukraine on issues of national security and defense.[2]
It is a state agency tasked with developing and coordinating a policy of national security on domestic and international matters in advising thePresident of Ukraine (currentlyVolodymyr Zelensky).[2] All the sessions of the council take place in thePresidential Administration Building. The agency's membership is determined by the President, but it must include thePrime Minister of Ukraine,Minister of Defense,Minister of Internal Affairs, and theMinister of Foreign Affairs.[2] As of December 2024, the council is headed by secretaryOleksandr Lytvynenko, who replacedOleksiy Danilov on 26 March 2024.[3]
Since 2014, the Council has received expanded powers, including the authority to impose sanctions. Under the presidency ofVolodymyr Zelenskyy, starting in 2021, the NSDC has actively implementedsanctions against Ukrainian citizens. This practice has been criticized by human rights organizations and legal experts as potentially unconstitutional and inconsistent with the principles of the rule of law, alleging it is used for politically motivated purposes.[4][5][6][7]
As of March 2024, the National Security and Defence Council consists of the following members:[8]
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Volodymyr Zelenskyy | President of Ukraine and Chairman of the NSDC |
| Oleksandr Lytvynenko | Secretary of the NSDC |
| Denys Shmyhal | Prime Minister of Ukraine |
| Rustem Umerov | Minister of Defense |
| Andrii Sybiha | Minister of Foreign Affairs |
| Serhiy Marchenko | Minister of Finance |
| Ihor Klymenko | Minister of Internal Affairs |
| Herman Halushchenko | Minister of Energy |
| Yulia Laputina | Minister for Veterans Affairs |
| Oleksandr Syrsky | Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine |
| Vasyl Malyuk | Head of the Ukrainian Security Service |
| Andriy Kostin | Prosecutor General of Ukraine |
| Andriy Yermak | Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine |
| Anatoliy Zahorodniy | President of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine |
| Oleksandr Lyvtynenko | Chairman of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine |
| Oleksandr Kamyshin | Minister for Strategic Industries |
| Yulia Svyrydenko | First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy |
| Ruslan Stefanchuk | Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada |
| Olha Stefanishyna | Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine |
| Mykhailo Fedorov | Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation |
| Filip Pronin | Head of the State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine |
| Andriy Pyshnyi [uk] | Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine |
The sanctions policy of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) has been widely criticized for the application of personal restrictive measures against Ukrainian citizens without a court ruling, which violates theConstitution of Ukraine and fundamental principles of the rule of law.[4][5][6] Sanctions are imposed by NSDC resolution based on the Law “On Sanctions”,[9] but the mechanism does not provide for judicial involvement,[10] which contradicts legal standards of theEuropean Union and other democratic states.[11]
Human rights organizations, including theCenter for Civil Liberties,[7] theUkrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, and theKharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, have pointed out the unconstitutional nature of this practice. They emphasize that the NSDC is a political body and lacks the authority to carry out quasi-judicial functions.[5][6] In February 2025, several Ukrainian human rights organizations issued a joint statement condemning the use of sanctions as a tool of political pressure against the opposition.[5]
According to critics, the sanctions mechanism has increasingly been used as a political instrument by incumbent PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy to eliminate political rivals and strengthen control over the media and business sectors.[5][6][7] Sanctions have targeted opposition politicians, journalists, and businessmen, including former PresidentPetro Poroshenko,[12] entrepreneursIhor Kolomoyskyi andGennadiy Bogolyubov,[13][14] journalistSvitlana Kryukova,[15] former presidential adviserOleksiy Arestovych,[16] and businessmanKostyantyn Zhevago.[17]
International human rights organizations, includingAmnesty International, have voiced similar criticism, stating that sanctions are being “systematically used as a tool ofpolitical persecution.”[18]
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| Ukraine portal |
TheDefense Council was created by the provision ofSupreme Council of Ukraine #1658-12 on October 11, 1991. The Defense Council was defined as the highest state body of collegiate governing on matters of defense and security of Ukraine with following goals:
On January 23, 1992, thePresident of Ukraine appointedMyroslav Vitovsky[citation needed] as a secretary of the Defense Council, a position which Vitovsky held until November 30, 1995.
After the establishment and elections of thePresident of Ukraine the composition of the council was reformed on April 9, 1992, by a provision of theVerkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament).[20]
The Council was originally created under temporary provision on July 3, 1992, as theNational Security Council, but significantly revamped and strengthened underPresidentLeonid Kuchma in 1994. The council was headed by a Presidential adviser in national security matters:
On August 23, 1994, thePresident of Ukraine adopted new provision for the Council. After the adaptation of theConstitution of Ukraine on June 28, 1996, the provisions of the council (National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine) were outlined in the Article 107. Thus, the National Security Council was merged with the already existing Defense Council of Ukraine and was adapted by the Presidential edict on August 30, 1996.
According to former secretaryAndriy Klyuyev, 460 people worked at the Council in 2010, while in April 2012 the number of employees was 90.[21] PresidentViktor Yanukovych limited the number of employees of the Council to 180 on 9 April 2012.[21]
The agency's membership is determined by the President, but it must include thePrime Minister of Ukraine,Minister of Defense,Minister of Internal Affairs, and theMinister of Foreign Affairs.[2] The head of the council is the President of Ukraine assisted by the secretary whom they are allowed to appoint. In the absence of existing President of Ukraine, such as between elections, the acting chairman of the council is the Prime Minister. TheChairman of the Verkhovna Rada is not a member of the council, but they are allowed to participate in the meetings. Members of the council may also be other chairmen of government bodies of theexecutive branch. Any other individual is only allowed by special invitation from the Chairman of the Council.
If the President resigns, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada becomes the acting head of the National Security and Defense Council.[22]
| No. | Name | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Volodymyr Horbulin | August 30, 1994 — November 10, 1999 |
| 2 | Yevhen Marchuk | November 10, 1999 — June 25, 2003 |
| 3 | Volodymyr Radchenko | September 2, 2003 — January 20, 2005 |
| 4 | Petro Poroshenko | February 8, 2005 — September 8, 2005 |
| 5 | Anatoliy Kinakh | September 27, 2005 — May 16, 2006 |
| act. | Volodymyr Horbulin | May 24, 2006 — October 10, 2006 |
| 6 | Vitaliy Haiduk | October 10, 2006 — May 12, 2007[23] |
| 7 | Ivan Plyushch | May 12, 2007 — November 26, 2007 |
| 8 | Raisa Bogatyrova | December 24, 2007 — February 14, 2012 |
| 9 | Andriy Klyuyev | February 14, 2012 — January 24, 2014[24] |
| 10 | Andriy Parubiy | February 27, 2014 — August 7, 2014[25][26] |
| 11 | Oleksandr Turchynov | December 16, 2014[26] — May 19, 2019[27] |
| 12 | Oleksandr Danylyuk | May 28, 2019[28] — September 27, 2019[29] |
| 13 | Oleksiy Danilov | October 3, 2019[30] — March 26, 2024[31] |
| 14 | Oleksandr Lytvynenko | March 26, 2024 — present[31] |
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