The head of the Ukrainian intelligence services Kyrylo Boudanov has just given an interview to the military information site The War Zone. As our colleagues from the The last newsthe senior official addressed several topics concerning the war in Ukraine.
Among his main statements, we note his clear opinion concerning the future of Vladimir Putin. For him he is “unlikely” that the Russian president does not survive the war in Ukraine. He explains: “The Russian people will continue to support the government until it is defeated, but then I expect Putin to be overthrown. Talks are already underway in Russia regarding his succession. But whoever comes to the power, Putin will be blamed for everything that went wrong.”
Kyrylo Boudanov is therefore convinced of the victory of his family. And for him, this victory can only be achieved by pushing Russia back to the borders of Ukraine in 1991, when the country gained its independence (Crimea included, therefore). Although he thinks Ukraine might achieve this next year, he refrained from specifying when precisely this will be done. “I don’t want to divulge too much regarding our military planning, but by next year we should have achieved that goal”he assures.
The head of the intelligence service also returned to the possibility for Russia to use nuclear weapons in this conflict. “Russia is a terrorist state with a nuclear arsenal, so theoretically it remains a possibility. However, we do not see any preparatory activity of this nature. Meanwhile, the enemy accuses us of producing a dirty bomb, but we will never stoop to that. With this lie, the Russians just want to pressure us to get us around the negotiating table.”
Worrisome weapons from Iran
What worries Kyrylo Boudanov more, however, is Iran’s armed support in the conflict. We already know that Iranian drones have done a lot of damage in Ukraine. “They are only supposed to be used to affect our energy infrastructure, but sometimes apartment buildings are also affected. When several floors collapse, many women and children are always killed”says the senior official.
But that’s not all. Next month, Russia is also expected to have Iranian precision missiles with a range of between 300 and 700 kilometers. On this subject, Kyrylo Budanov says: “They pose a serious threat because they move very quickly and – unlike the Russians – are very accurate. We have to rely on our air defenses and can only hope that our allies will provide even more air defense systems.”.
A danger from Belarus?
The head of the intelligence service was also questioned regarding the possible threat posed by Belarus, where Russian soldiers might cut off supplies from Westerners. “It is of course the dream of Russia”indicated Kyrylo Boudanov. “But at the moment there are only 4,300 active soldiers in this region. 80% of the cases are still reservists. So there is no imminent invasion now, but that might change quickly if Kherson falls. The Russians will then retreat further towards Zaporizhia, some may move towards Belarus and pose a new danger there. But we are prepared for this scenario.”.
As for Kherson precisely, key city that the Ukrainians want to take back from the Russiansthe top official indicates that it will return to the hands of Ukraine “by the end of next month”. Because if he recognizes that the most trained Russian troops today defend the city, he adds that these elite soldiers are surrounded by a lot of poorly trained and poorly equipped reservists. “Call them cannon fodder instead”concluded by Kyrylo Boudanov.
