KIEV. Nov 13 (Interfax-AVN) - Implementation of the civil control over the military sphere in the Armed Forces will be a major goal of Ukraine's new defense minister Army General Vladimir Shkidchenko, a source with the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.
The civil control strategy is being developed by the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, the source told Interfax-Military News Agency. At first Shkidchenko will have to finalize the plan of operations in the framework of the state program on the Armed Forces reform and development for the period of up to 2005 as well as to prepare for approval the program of the arms and military equipment development for the period of up to 2010. Both documents are supposed to be discussed by the council in December this year.
Shkidchenko is to oversee activities of the General Staff and military R&D institutes developing proposals on improvement of the bill on civil control over the military sphere.
President Leonid Kuchma announced the necessity to establish reliable civil control over the military sphere after Ukraine officially confessed the guilt over the October 4 tragedy when a Ukrainian air defense missile tracked down a Russian TU-154 Careless airliner.