‘Russia has entered the deadlock, the war is at a standstill’: Kyrillo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s intelligence agency
Now that Kieu is waiting for more advanced weapons from the Western allies, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency has said that the fighting in Ukraine is at a standstill because neither Ukraine nor Russia can make significant progress.
Carillo Budanov told the BBC in an interview that “the situation is badly stuck.” There is no change in it at present.
Much of the fierce fighting has taken place around the Bakhmut region of eastern Donetsk since Ukrainian troops recaptured the southern city of Kherson in November. Elsewhere, Russian forces appear to be deployed on the defensive while winter has slowed Ukrainian ground operations along the 1,000km front line.
Kyrillo Budanov said Russia is now “completely stuck in a dead end”, has suffered a lot and believes the Kremlin has decided to launch another recruitment drive. However, he added that Ukrainian forces still lack the resources to advance in several areas.
He said, “We cannot defeat them from all sides, nor can they defeat us completely.” We are looking forward to the delivery of new weapons and the arrival of more advanced weapons.
Earlier this month, after a series of Russian military setbacks, Ukrainian officials warned of the possibility of another ground invasion by Moscow’s forces from Belarus as early as 2023.
They said that this attack could also include a second attempt to capture the capital city of Qiu. And that includes tens of thousands of reservists trained in Russia.
However, Kyrillo Budanov has rejected Russia’s activities in Belarus, including the movement of thousands of troops as it tries to divert Ukraine from the southern and eastern battlefields to the north.
He said that recently a train loaded with Russian soldiers stopped at a point near the Belarus-Ukraine border and returned several hours later with all the passengers.
“Their comings and goings were deliberately shown so that everyone would see the scene whether (we) wanted them to or not,” he said, adding that he saw no real threat of an attack by troops in Belarus. Not visible. “So far I don’t see any signs of preparations for an attack from Belarus on Kiev or the northern regions.”
The interview in Kyrillo Budanov’s dimly lit office in Kyiv comes days after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Belarusian capital for the first time in more than three years.
President Putin’s visit is fueling speculation that he may try to persuade President Alexander Lukashenko, a longtime ally, to send Belarusian troops to Ukraine.
Belarus has been used by Russian forces as a ‘launch pad’ for attacks, but Kyrillo Budanov believes Belarusian society will not support further involvement in the war and analysts prepare its 48,000-strong army. Doubts have also been expressed on the surface.
He said that that is why President Lukashenko is taking all measures to prevent any disaster for his country.
Kyrillo Budanov said the attack was led by the mercenary Wagner Group. Its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is believed to want to seize the town as a political prize, with Russian officials at loggerheads over what course of action he should take.
Far from the battlefield, Russia has waged a sustained air campaign since mid-October that has targeted critical infrastructure in Ukraine with missiles and drones, leaving millions without electricity, heating and water. Kirill Budanov said the attacks were likely to continue, but suggested that Russia would not be able to sustain the level of attacks due to a dwindling stockpile of missiles, and the inability of Russian industry to replenish them.
Although Iran has supplied most of the drones used in Russia’s attacks, the head of Ukraine’s intelligence agency says Tehran has so far refused to supply Russia with missiles because Iran knows it can It is already under severe sanctions from Western countries because of its nuclear program.
The war may be at a standstill for now, but Kyrillo Budanov is adamant that Ukraine will eventually take back all the territory it still holds, including Crimea, the peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014. What was occupied? Kyrillo Budanov believes that Ukraine will liberate from Russia all the regions that were part of Ukraine at the time of Ukraine’s independence in 1991.
