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Today Francis Dearnley talks to Oleksiy Danilov, the overarching coordinator of the country's war cabinet.
Danilov rose to national prominence on the strength of appearances "on Ukraine's highly-rated national prime time talk show, where he takes on the country's oligarchs, illegal privatizations, the machinations of Russia's fifth column in Ukraine, and "treasonous" votes in past parliaments."[9]
Danilov was Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council from 23 July to 3 October 2019.[10][11] Since 3 October 2019 he is the Secretary (deputy Chairman, President Volodymyr Zelensky is the formal chairman) of this board.[4][9]
On 24 January 2022, Danilov said that the movement of Russian troops near Ukraine's border was "not news" and "we don't see any grounds for statements about a full-scale offensive on our country".[12] During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Danilov urged men eligible for mobilisation to not "hide behind a woman's skirt".[13][14]
After the 2022 Crimean Bridge explosion Danilov posted a video of the burning bridge alongside a black-and-white clip of Marilyn Monroe singing "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" – a reference to Putin turning 70 the same day.[15][16]
On 6 April 2023, Danilov stated about a possible peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, which would freeze the conflict and leave the annexed territories of Ukraine, including Crimea, in Russia's possession, that "If Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposes peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow, he will commit political suicide."[17]
Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, Aleksey Danilov, “The peace formula is the weapons formula,”
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Ukraine faces the threat of its “carefully woven web of foreign assistance” being slowly unraveled due to waning optimism and growing disappointment among its Western backers, the head of the National Security and Defense Council, Aleksey Danilov, wrote in an opinion piece published on Saturday in the newspaper Ukrainskaya Pravda.
The security chief accused “reputable and influential” Western media outlets of publishing materials suggesting Ukraine’s much-hyped summer counteroffensive is failing, Kiev’s troops are unable to take back territory from Russia, and Moscow’s resources are “limitless.” All such sentiments slow down the Western military assistance to Kiev and stand in the way of Ukraine’s “peace formula,” Danilov added.
He stated that the only solution to the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kiev, which has been ongoing for more than a year and a half, is a military one. “The peace formula is the weapons formula,” he said in the article.
Danilov urged the West to combat its own growing skepticism about Ukraine’s prospects in the conflict. Western nations should create their own “agreed formula for … the vision of Ukraine’s victory” and also “enshrine military assistance to Ukraine in … legislation,” he said, adding that election cycles might affect “the stability of the partnership” between Ukraine and the West.
The US and its allies should also “develop and implement a set of measures to neutralize so-called ‘war fatigue’,” Danilov maintained. He also admitted that “a sprint” – i.e. a short conflict – had been “replaced by a long run.”
His words came more than three months into the Ukrainian counteroffensive, which has so far failed to bring about any meaningful changes to the front lines but has seen Kiev’s troops suffer heavy losses in attempts to penetrate Russian defenses.
Numerous Western media outlets have reported on the growing skepticism among Western officials about the prospects for the operation. The New York Times reported in August that US and UK officials were allegedly “perplexed” by Kiev’s tactics, while the Wall Street Journal said that Washington was set to reduce military aid to Ukraine in 2024.
Moscow has repeatedly expressed its willingness to engage in peace talks as long as its interests are taken into account and the “reality on the ground” is respected.
However, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has imposed a legal prohibition on all discussions with Russia. He also insisted on his own “peace formula” – the one Danilov was referring to – that includes the withdrawal of Russian troops from all territories claimed by Kiev, reparations from Moscow, and a criminal tribunal for the members of Russian government.
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Ukraine’s unlikely new political heavyweight
Ukraine has an unlikely new political star. He is a gruff, plainspoken 58-year-old former veterinarian who wears ill-fitting suits and rarely cracks a smile. Yet over the last two months, Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, has become Ukraine’s most compelling voice for reform and justice.
With President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s ratings plummeting and his government facing challenges from rising COVID fatalities, inadequate vaccine supplies, economic decline, and no signs of an end to Russia’s war in the Donbas, Danilov has been the one official who has begun to effectively communicate a sense of purpose and progress on the key issues troubling the Ukrainian public.
Most Friday nights, Danilov is a fixture on Ukraine’s highly-rated national prime time talk show, where he takes on the country’s oligarchs, illegal privatizations, the machinations Russia’s fifth column in Ukraine, and “treasonous” votes in past parliaments. He also peppers his media appearances with broader commentary, as when he called on students and faculty to reject the candidacy of a discredited former parliamentary speaker for the post of Rector of Kyiv State University, or when he recently opined that English should supplant Russian as Ukraine’s second language...
To be sure, most of the decisions of the National Security and Defense Council, along with President Zelenskyy’s decrees, are and will be subject to court challenges. But in Ukraine’s unpredictable courts, the only thing that can be predicted is that most cases will take years to adjudicate. For the moment, at least, the Council’s far-reaching decisions will remain in force. This means that Oleksiy Danilov is set for an extended period at the center of public attention.
Adrian Karatnycky is a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council.
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World War III has 'already begun', claims Ukraine’s security chief as conflict rages on
Head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, Aleksey Danilov, on Wednesday said that World War III "is already underway," as the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict has dragged the other countries into the conflict. Speaking at the Kyiv Security Forum on September 5, Danilov said that the Western military alliance NATO would need Ukraine as a member amid the global turbulence which is in its full momentum. Kyiv "will strengthen the NATO further," said the head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council.
“If somebody thinks that World War III hasn’t started then it’s a huge mistake. It has already begun. It had been underway in a hybrid period for some time and has now entered an active phase,” Danilov stressed speaking in the presence of CIA Director General David Petraeus.
'Things are much more complicated'
Danilov said: “If somebody thinks that it [the conflict in Ukraine] is about settling the scores between Kyiv and Moscow then it’s a mistake. Things are much more complicated." Petraeus, meanwhile, claimed that he hadn't witnessed a conflict so vast and of its scale. “I haven’t seen anything like it since World War II,” said the CIA Director General as per RT World. “The Russians are not particularly impressive in terms of knowledge or performance on the battlefield, but they have created a rather outstanding defense system, and it is quite difficult to punch it through,” the latter stressed.
Earlier, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had hurled similar warnings about World War III, saying that the West must not give in to Russia's 'nuclear blackmail.' Any type of negotiation of talks with Moscow fearing its possession of nukes “would be the worst result, which would embolden Russia and could lead to World War III," Zelenskyy had warned. "I can’t even understand how the world’s security and intelligence agencies and powerful minds can let Russia even think about it," Zelenskyy stated, commenting on Moscow's repeated threats of using nuclear munitions.
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