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Zelensky signs law expanding Ukraine Security Service

The law also authorizes SBU officers to use weapons and combat vehicles for the sake of defense

MOSCOW, July 28. /TASS/. Vladimir Zelensky has signed a law increasing the number of Ukraine Security Service (SBU) staff both in peacetime and wartime, according to a post on the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) website.

The law comes into effect on the following day after its publication.

The SBU must submit amendments to relevant presidential acts within two months.

Irina Gerashchenko, a lawmaker with the European Solidarity faction, said earlier that the law envisages increasing SBU personnel from 27,000 to 37,000 during peacetime, and from 31,000 to 41,000 during wartime.

The law also authorizes SBU officers to use weapons and combat vehicles for the sake of defense. Apart from that, the service’s anti-terrorism department will be replaced by Special Operations Center A, numbering at least 10,000.

The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) was established in 1991 and is subordinate to the head of state.

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