Ukraine Secures Access to EU Cybersecurity Reserve as Cyber Forces Law Stalls

Ukraine has gained access to the EU Cybersecurity Reserve, strengthening its ability to protect critical infrastructure with support from European partners.

The new mechanism allows Ukraine to request assistance from European cybersecurity experts in the event of major cyberattacks.

According to the Ministry of Digital Transformation, Ukraine’s Parliament ratified the agreement earlier this year. The EU has now completed all required legal procedures, officially bringing the emergency cyber support mechanism into force.

The initiative was launched under the EU Cyber Solidarity Act and is managed by ENISA, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity.

A major benefit of the mechanism is that it provides Ukraine with direct access to trusted private-sector cybersecurity providers, enabling it to rapidly draw on specialized expertise during large-scale cyber incidents.

Under the new EU mechanism, if government networks, websites, power grids, or other critical infrastructure are targeted in a cyberattack, Ukraine can request assistance from European cybersecurity experts. They will help contain and neutralize attacks, assess threats, and support recovery efforts to restore affected systems as quickly as possible.

However, Ukraine’s Parliament has still not approved the bill establishing the country’s national Cyber Forces in a second reading.

In October 2025, Ukraine’s Parliament approved in the first reading a bill to establish the Cyber Forces as a separate branch of the Armed Forces.

The legislation was subsequently revised in March 2026 to include provisions for active cyber defense, incentives for successful cyber operations, and the creation of a civilian cyber resistance component.

By June 2026, parliamentary officials said the bill had been finalized for a second reading. The proposed Cyber Forces would conduct cyber intelligence and military cyber operations under the direct authority of Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief.

Although Ukraine’s cyber units are already conducting operations, they still lack a formal legal status because the legislation establishing the Cyber Forces has not yet been adopted.

MP Oleksandr Fediienko said that government institutions sometimes “compete” with one another in cyberspace instead of working against the enemy. In his view, the creation of the Cyber Forces would establish a unified command to coordinate cyber operations.