On October 7, the Verkhovna Rada plans to consider the draft law «On Cyber Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.»
On October 7, the Verkhovna Rada plans to consider the draft law «On Cyber Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.»
In accordance with the presidential decree of August 26, 2021 and the decisions of the National Security and Defense Council, as well as the directives of the Ministry of Defense and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the formation of Cyber Forces as a separate branch of the Ukrainian army has begun, the military say.
As reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the draft law was developed by a working group that included specialists from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The adoption of the document and support for the creation of Cyberforce will help strengthen the combat capabilities of the Ukrainian army in cyberspace and more quickly implement the changes necessary to counter the aggressor, the General Staff said.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine already have cyber warfare units operating, which have been countering enemy cyber attacks since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion. The process of strengthening these capabilities is currently underway.
Previously, dev.ua talked about the functions of the new branch of the military and what the Cyber Forces of the Armed Forces will consist of. Also, a combined approach will be used to staff the staff — both the transfer of specialists from other units and subdivisions of the Armed Forces, and the mobilization of individuals willing to serve in the Cyber Forces who have the relevant experience and knowledge.
According to the secretary and head of the information security and cybersecurity service of the NSDC Apparatus, Nataliya Tkachuk , the Cyber Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will have the following functions:
The Armed Forces of Ukraine planned that the Cyber Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine would consist of five main departments and a headquarters:
However, this was a preliminary vision, and now, according to Oleksandr Fedienko, a member of the National Security, Defense and Intelligence Committee of Ukraine, the draft law does not yet mention the structure of the Cyberforce at all. Colonel Ivan Pavlenko also notes that it is too early to talk about the completed structure of the Cyberforce of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Currently, cybersecurity in Ukraine is handled by such state bodies as CERT-UA (a government computer emergency response team operating as part of the State Service for Special Communications) and the National Cybersecurity Coordination Center under the National Security and Defense Council, which is responsible for monitoring the security and defense sector, ensuring cybersecurity, identifying threats, participating in the development of proposals for ensuring cyber protection of critical infrastructure facilities, etc.
According to Oleksandr Fedienko, they should not protect the infrastructure from hacker attacks. Their task is reconnaissance, information collection, setting up backdoors (unauthorized remote access to computers — ed.), and if necessary, attacks on the digital systems of a specific enemy.
«The creation of Cyber Forces, as a separate type of force, will significantly strengthen the capabilities of the Ukrainian army, ensure effective planning and implementation of the full range of tasks in cyberspace, which, on a par with land, sea, air and space, is recognized as a separate operational domain,» the General Staff noted a year ago .
As a reminder, on December 19, 2024, draft law No. 12349 On Cyber Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was registered in the parliament. On March 20, 2025, it was considered by the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence and recommended for first reading and adoption as a basis.
In May 2024, the draft law «On Cyber Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine» was at the stage of approval by the Ministry of Defense and the Defense Forces. At that time, the Secretary of the National Cybersecurity Coordination Center, Natalia Tkachuk, noted that in addition to the profile law, it was necessary to develop a Concept for the creation of a new structure.
By directive of the Minister of Defense and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the tasks, size, and timing of the formation of the Cyberforces Command as a military command body and military units subordinate to it have been determined.
The Main Directorate of Radio Electronic and Cyber Warfare of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was appointed responsible for the creation of the Cyber Force.
