"The war should not have started in 2022" — Ukrainian intelligence

Kyrylo Budanov, Head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine's Ministry of Defence, stated that the war in Ukraine was supposed to begin in 2021. Budanov spoke about this in an interview with Voice of America.

According to the report, in 2021 Putin was held back by international diplomatic efforts. The start date of the invasion was postponed to February 2022, and the final decision was made in the Kremlin on 23 February.

"More than a year has passed since the war began, and Russia has failed to accomplish any of its strategic objectives. However, as February 2022 approached, Ukraine took certain steps, and it was precisely for this reason that Russia was unable to carry out its plan on 24 February. For example, on 23 February our aviation was in a state of readiness. When Russia launched missiles on 24 February, the losses in our combat aviation were almost minimal, practically zero. Many such small steps were taken at the last moment," Budanov said.

In the view of the head of Ukrainian intelligence, Russia is not prepared for protracted military operations.

"I am telling you this as the head of intelligence. They present themselves in every way as being ready for a ten-year war, but in reality their resources are very limited, both in terms of time and scale. In Russia, they know this very well," he said.

In the intelligence chief's opinion, China will not agree to supply weapons to Russia. At the same time, he noted that he sees no evidence that such matters are currently being discussed.

Source: daryo.uz