The Chesno movement published a 2025 monitoring report on the transparency of parliamentary committees of the IX convocation. Experts assessed how accessible committees are to media and the public, and how easily information about their work can be obtained. NAKO researcher Oleksandr Vehershynskyi, in a column for hromadske, analyzed how many laws were prepared by the Committee on National Security, Defence, and Intelligence (hereafter — the Committee) and how open its work is.
Currently, the parliament has 23 committees. They are the key working bodies of the Verkhovna Rada, responsible for preparing, reviewing, and refining bills, overseeing their implementation, and monitoring the budget. Committees draft opinions on bills, revise them, and participate in appointments. For example, when government members are appointed, candidate reviews are conducted by the relevant committees. In July 2025, the National Security Committee reviewed Denys Shmyhal’s nomination before his appointment to the Ministry of Defence. A similar procedure was applied in 2026 for Mykhailo Fedorov.
Transparency varies widely
The Chesno study showed that transparency among committees is uneven. Only three out of 23 committees frequently opened their doors to journalists and the public: the Committee on Digital Transformation; the Committee on National Health, Medical Care, and Health Insurance; and the Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy.
Among the least transparent are six committees, including the National Security Committee. This area is especially relevant for NAKO’s oversight, as it directly affects independent anti-corruption work.
A legislative “engine”: 64% of 2025 laws passed through the Committee
In 2025, the Committee played a decisive role in lawmaking. The Verkhovna Rada passed 181 laws, most related to security and defence:
- 116 laws (64%) were processed by the Committee;
- in 33 cases, the Committee was the main author responsible for the final text.
To manage this workload, the Committee held 63 meetings in one year. Its work was divided among 9 subcommittees across 5 key areas: military strategy and international integration; defence industry and innovations; intelligence, special services, and cybersecurity; human capital and social protection; and legal framework and territorial security.
Transparency vs. reality
On 14 January 2025, the Verkhovna Rada required all parliamentary committees to publish not only protocols and transcripts but also video recordings of meetings within 24 hours and to provide access for journalists and the public. On 17 December 2025, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a law strengthening media guarantees and citizens’ right to information, including opening committee work. Our analysis showed little change in the National Security Committee’s transparency.
For example, in January 2025, the President proposed changes to laws governing the deployment of Ukrainian Armed Forces units abroad, including legal regulations for the ongoing Kursk operation. The Committee reviewed the draft twice (10 and 20 February 2025) and prepared conclusions. However, the agendas were published only on 15 April 2025, and protocols and transcripts of these meetings remain unavailable, even though the review was not classified.
Key findings of our analysis:
- Agendas are published up to a month late (instead of within 24 hours);
- the latest published report dates back to 2019;
- an up-to-date work plan is missing (last one — 2019);
- protocols, transcripts, and attendance records are incomplete.
Workload vs. openness
The Committee plays a major role in ensuring Ukraine’s defence, judging by the statistics — most laws pass through it. Committee members work intensively. Yet there is a large gap between lawmaking activity and compliance with public transparency standards. NAKO believes the Committee should improve internal administrative processes and publish documents and reports on time. This would satisfy both media and public demand while maintaining the necessary balance between openness and protection of state secrets.