New military doctrine calls Russia Ukraine's military adversary, stipulates NATO membership

The new doctrine is based on the high likelihood of a large-scale use of military force against Ukraine as the main threat to Ukraine's national security in the military sphere, confirms the abandonment of the non-aligned policy and declares the resumption of the strategic courts towards Euro-Atlantic integration, the NSDC spokesperson said. The doctrine also defines signs of a domestic armed conflict, including one that is inspired by foreign stations; reflects the increased role of information and psychological warfare operations; and underscores the need to improve training and mobilization systems and to substantially increase the professional component of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and other military formations. The new doctrine also sets out national defense measures required to restore national sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the challenges of Ukraine's defense and security potentials as a pre-requisite for countering armed aggression. The draft of the new military doctrine was approved on Wednesday, September 2, by the NSDC and proposed for signature by the Ukrainian president. Under the new military doctrine, Ukraine abandons its non-aligned policy, re-embarks on the strategic course towards Euro-Atlantic integration, and shifts the emphasis from conducting military conflicts to the combined use of military and non-military tools, including economic, political, information-psychological and so on, the president said. "This is radically changes the nature of warfare. Effectively, it is what we call a hybrid war," he said. The program stipulates that "in the medium term, Ukraine will use first and foremost its own capabilities." "The red thread crossing this strategic document [the military doctrine] is the theme of Euro-Atlantic integration, the need to bring our whole defense and military system into line with NATO standards and achieve the membership criteria. It is our task to ensure full compatibility of the Ukrainian Armed Forces with those of NATO members before 2020," the Ukrainian president told the National Security and Defense Council on Wednesday. Currently, both Ukraine and NATO are not ready yet to raise the membership issue, but there is the decision of the Bucharest summit in 2008, which says that the doors are open, Poroshenko said. "I insist: the final version of the Military Doctrine should state clearly, with no unnecessary diplomacy, that Ukraine should achieve not just the membership criteria but actually become a full NATO member," Poroshenko said.