Ukraine and NATO Aim to Establish a System for Secret Information Sharing

Ukraine and NATO plan a secure information exchange system in 2026, with JATEC leading, enhancing interoperability, and preparing Ukraine for potential Alliance membership.

Ukraine and NATO plan to create a tool for the covert exchange of information. According to Oboronka, the details were shared by Colonel Valeriy Vyshnivskyi, Ukraine’s senior national representative at the NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training, and Education Centre (JATEC), in an interview with Ukrinform.

He spoke about the development of this system in the context of JATEC’s planned activities for 2026.

“The most important thing is the creation of another tool that will firmly connect Ukraine and NATO. This involves building a system for the secret exchange of information. To date, no such system exists between Ukraine and NATO. One of our areas of work includes launching a pilot project where an information exchange system will be created,” said Valeriy Vyshnivskyi.

According to him, the project will become one of the most important milestones in the development of Ukraine-NATO relations. The Ministry of Defense and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will receive a tool for instant data exchange with NATO bodies in a secure mode. At this stage, such a capability does not yet exist.

Valeriy Vyshnivskyi believes that the issue of exchanging confidential information between Ukraine and NATO will be resolved this year.

“I think it will be done by the end of this year. That is, the first test systems should appear already this year,” noted the director of programs at the NATO-Ukraine Centre.

He also added that “through training and the communications system, we are following the path that Sweden and Finland went through before joining the Alliance.”

“When a ‘window of opportunity’ for joining the Alliance opens, Ukraine must be 101 percent ready. This concerns all aspects of interoperability with the Alliance, so that Ukraine’s procedures and NATO’s do not differ,” emphasized Valeriy Vyshnivskyi.

It is worth noting that the NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training, and Education Centre is located in the Polish city of Bydgoszcz. It was opened in February 2025.

According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense, JATEC became the first partner organization within NATO’s structure. The Centre analyzes the Russia-Ukraine war and facilitates interoperability between NATO and Ukraine. In addition, it supports transformational defense initiatives that promote closer integration between NATO and Ukraine.