This country’s coercive structures are in for new upheavals. Addressing the enlarged session of the Ministry of Defense board on November 23, Commander-in-Chief Leonid Kuchma announced the need to optimize the structure and strength of all agencies employing force. He meant the Security Service, units of the Internal Affairs Ministry, Border Security Forces, the National Guard, and troops of the Ministry of Emergency Management. Together with the Armed Forces, the personnel strength of these agencies comes to about one million. In fact, this is an attempt to carry out the reform of the whole military organization of this country. Earlier, the leadership lacked funds and, what is more, resolution to take this step.
The new slogans of coercive structures optimization are to be turned into specific programs by the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC). A month was given to work out proposals. Each coercive agency can be expected to seek ways to defend its interests to the utmost. Thus this first task assigned by the President to the newly-appointed NSDC Secretary will be a difficult test for Yevhen Marchuk. He will have to wage a virtually one- to-one battle against the arms bearing agencies. Or perhaps this is precisely what the Commander-in-Chief wanted in proclaiming the necessity to optimize the uniform-clad agencies?
The Day ’s reference
As of today, the law lays down the following strength of Ukraine’s coercive structures. The Armed Forces are allowed to employ 320,000 military and 100,000 civilian servicemen. The total strength of Civil Defense troops is set at 10,218, including 9,550 military servicemen. The law allows the Internal Affairs Ministry to have 420,000 people, out of which 320,000 are employed in police units. About 60,000 serve in fire brigades. Over 30,000 are part of the Internal Affairs Troops. National Guard personnel is about 26,600. 43,500 people serve in the Border Security Forces of Ukraine.






