HUR (Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, military intelligence)

Origins

According to the HUR website, work on forming the Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine began in February 1992, and a presidential decree of 7 September 1992 established the Directorate of Strategic Military Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence; the former reported to the Chief of the General Staff, the latter to the Minister of Defence.¹

A decree of 6 July 1993 began the merger of the two structures into the Main Directorate of Military Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence; a decree of 14 April 1994 changed the name to the current one (in English, Defence Intelligence of Ukraine). On 22 March 2001 the Verkhovna Rada passed the law on intelligence bodies, which gave it the status of a special state body.¹

The law “On Intelligence” (2020)

The Verkhovna Rada passed the law “On Intelligence” on 17 September 2020; President Volodymyr Zelensky signed it on 21 October 2020. According to the Rada, the law sets out the legal and organisational principles of intelligence, the status and social guarantees of intelligence officers, and the procedure for oversight of intelligence.^3,4

Article 5 names three intelligence bodies: the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, the intelligence body of the Ministry of Defence and the intelligence body of the State Border Guard Service. Other entities are prohibited from conducting intelligence activity, with exceptions provided for members of the intelligence community; the regulations of each intelligence body are approved by the President.²

According to the Rada, the law also brings the SBU into the intelligence community in order to coordinate activities and prevent disputes over competences.³

Civilian oversight

Among its legal bases, the HUR lists Law No. 975-IV of 19 June 2003 on democratic civilian control over the military organisation and law enforcement bodies, and Presidential Decree No. 206/2004 of 18 February 2004 on strengthening civilian oversight of law enforcement and intelligence bodies.⁵