The dismissal of Oleksiy Danilov from the post of Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council may be the head of the Presidential Office’s own initiative. Danilov himself has never been a member of the Presidential Office team, which is why it was decided to dismiss him. This opinion was expressed in a comment to Komersant ukrainskyi military expert Oleh Zhdanov expressed this opinion in a comment to Kommersant Ukrainian.
“This is an arrangement of people from their own team. Danilov has never been a representative of the President’s team. That is most likely why he was fired. Sometimes his statements were at odds with those of the Office. So, I think that Danilov’s dismissal is an initiative of the head of the OP,”
– zhdanov believes.
In his opinion, the National Security and Defence Council does not currently play a serious role in the state.
“The NSDC is an advisory body to the President of Ukraine. It should prepare proposals on various issues and submit them to the President. Today, apart from Mr Danilov’s own statements, I personally have not seen the NSDC develop any proposals for the President and present them,”
– zhdanov said.
According to the military expert, the main thing is not the dismissal of Danilov himself, but the appointment of Oleksandr Lytvynenko, who was previously the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, as the NSDC Secretary.
“For Lytvynenko, his dismissal from the Foreign Intelligence Service and appointment as NSDC Secretary is a demotion and a very significant one. The Foreign Intelligence Service, which knows all the secrets and operates outside the country, is directly subordinate to the President. Perhaps they just needed a place to send Mr Lytvynenko, and that’s why Danilov was dismissed,”
– the military expert concluded.
Oleh Ivashchenko was appointed to replace Lytvynenko. He is now the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine. Previously, Ivashchenko held the position of First Deputy Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine and Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Author: Alyona Kaplina