For almost a year, Ukraine has been waging a difficult but heroic struggle against Russia. Our state managed to destroy the myth of the “second army of the world” and inflict colossal losses on the enemy.
This was stated during an interview by the head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense Kirill Budanov. He compared the war in Ukraine to the victory of David over Goliath.
War as a living organism: demonstrating the events in Ukraine
Kirill Budanov noted that the war with Russia is now demonstrating the uniqueness of the Ukrainian army – our soldiers are quickly adapting and improving old equipment. For example, our defenders boldly use older weapons for new challenges and tasks. The head of the GUR even joked that Ukrainians often use weapons better than their “creators”, because the Russians consider the entire legacy of the USSR to be theirs, including military developments.
However, according to Budanov, war is not static, frozen or permanent process. This, according to him, is a substance in which the parties take into account previous experience, make adjustments in accordance with the situation.
First of all, we must free ourselves from the idea of war as something static, “frozen” or permanent. This is mistake. In my opinion, this is a living substance. Our enemy, we see, is changing and adapting to the situation. Analyzes and implements new solutions; tactical and operational. Or even develop new strategic goals,” Budanov explained.
Regarding the myth of Russia's invincibility, the head of the GUR recalled the historical episode about the victory of the British in the time of Queen Elizabeth I over the seemingly invincible Spanish fleet and the victory of David over Goliath in the biblical narrative.
The role of intelligence in the war with Russia
Kirill Budanov stressed that during the invasion, the Main Intelligence Directorate became a powerful channel for the supply of information, important not only for our army, but also for the world. Ukrainian intelligence analyzes the state of the enemy army, logistics, production targets, public and regional sentiments, social dynamics and economic indicators. All this allows you to make predictions of further actions.
I can say that we understand the problems and challenges of Russia's military-political leadership. Because of this, we anticipate his next steps. But that's not all. We see significant changes in the Russian state itself. Surfaced after a full-scale invasion, after the imposition of sanctions and upon the return home of thousands of black bags with the bodies of Russians who died in Ukraine. All this works, therefore every day it gradually destroys the Putin regime, undermines it,” Budanov stressed.
The future of Ukraine and Russia: Budanov's forecast
The head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense noted that it is difficult to talk about the future of Russia now, given that it is not yet known how many parts it will fall apart, with whom it will have to conduct a dialogue, who will be responsible for crimes and pay reparations. Budanov noted that the narrative about “Putin's war” is incorrect, because now at least two thirds of Russians support Putin's actions.
Our tasks, the tasks of Ukraine, are the systemic and state weakening of the Russian Federation. To do this, we must actively join the Euro-Atlantic and European structures: political, economic, security, legal, humanitarian and educational. And forget about our post-Soviet period, like a nightmare. Finally, we must have some form of control over the new post-war Russian Federation. So that what happened with Ukraine will never happen again,” Budanov stressed.
