National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine

The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, (abbr. NSDCU; Ukrainian: Рада національної безпеки і оборони України, romanized: Rada natsionalnoyi bezpeky i oboroni Ukrayiny, RNBOU) or RNBO, is the coordinating state body of the executive power under the President of Ukraine on issues of national security and defense.

It is a state agency tasked with developing and coordinating a policy of national security on domestic and international matters in advising the President of Ukraine (currently Volodymyr Zelensky). All the sessions of the council take place in the Presidential Administration Building. The agency's membership is determined by the President, but it must include the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Minister of Defense, Minister of Internal Affairs, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. As of December 2024, the council is headed by secretary Oleksandr Lytvynenko, who replaced Oleksiy Danilov on 26 March 2024.

Since 2014, the Council has received expanded powers, including the authority to impose sanctions. Under the presidency of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, starting in 2021, the NSDC has actively implemented sanctions against Ukrainian citizens. This practice has been criticized by human rights organizations and legal experts as potentially unconstitutional and inconsistent with the principles of the rule of law, alleging it is used for politically motivated purposes.