The top leadership and intelligence knew in advance about the plans and date of the Russian attack on Ukraine. But this was not told to all Ukrainians so as not to sow panic and the functioning of the economy.
Plans to seize Ukraine
Kirill Budanov, head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, said this in an interview with the publication. According to him, before the start of the war, Putin had several options for seizing Ukraine.
I'm telling you as an intelligence official: he had, in principle, absolutely realistic options that could end badly enough for us in a fairly short term. And it was absolutely ridiculous, as they say, the animal version – open aggression. There were people who even told Putin that the option of open aggression always exists, but this is not the best option,” the head of intelligence explained.
He noted that the Russian president chose the worst option. He believed that no later than on the third day he would be able to capture the administrative buildings of Kyiv, and on the tenth day to complete the active military phase, that is, completely destroy any resistance.
Who knew about the date of the invasion and why didn’t they tell all Ukrainians< /h3>
Budanov also said that he knew the exact date of the invasion and reported this to the political leadership of the country. When asked by a journalist about their reaction, he replied that Ukraine survived, which means there was a reaction.
The intelligence chief also noted that at a February 23 meeting of big business in the President's Office, they were warned of the maximum likelihood of hostilities. Representatives of big business were also told about the location of the main forces, groupings, the total number of tanks, helicopters stationed in operational areas.
The society was also preparing for war, and the main thing was not to sow panic in society. This is exactly what has been achieved. But you must understand that when bombs start falling in any country, whether it is preparing for war or not, most of the society will be a little surprised, let's call it that, – said Budanov.
When asked by a journalist about the pre-war the president said and “barbecue in the country” he noted that Putin made the final decision to start hostilities around 15:00 on February 23, and before that time there were still certain hesitations and preparations. And he could use any option.
And therefore, according to Budanov, in order not to cause premature panic, which Russia really wanted to achieve in Ukraine, so that there would be no significant fluctuations in the exchange rate, capital outflow, investment climate, in order to keep at least somehow other economic aspects, it was necessary that the situation is controlled.
