Budanov: Few in Russia’s ruling elite support Ukraine war
That’s according to the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, Kyrylo Budanov, who spoke in an interview with TSN, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
"Among those who actually make decisions there, there are only a few left of those who advocate war in the literal sense. Everyone understands that this is a collapse, and the sooner it is over, the better," he said.
Answering the question of whether or not the Russian government is getting stronger after the events around Wagner Group and its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, Budanov noted that everything, starting with the June mutiny and continuing with the events that followed, was obviously not in favor of the Russian leadership.
According to him, the position of President Vladimir Putin was in no way strengthened by the fact that generals such as Sergey Surovikin and others were removed from their posts.
"The fact that they are being removed or, as is shown on the example of Teplinskyi, are facing attempts to be removed amid internal squabbles, this is definitely not in favor of the Russian Federation. Let's put it bluntly: it's good for us. The fact that the commander, who told the truth about the real situation of the Russian armed forces in this war, was deployed to lead a group of troops in Syria, well... One can only applaud this. For us, it's great," said the head of the GUR.
Answering the question of whether someone is keeping his hands tied in the context that Putin cannot be physically eliminated, Budanov said that it is not someone who is keeping his hands tied but his own brain.
"You have to think about all the steps. What is more profitable for us – to kill him or to allow him to finish Russia off? And what will happen if the attempt turns out to be unsuccessful, and what consequences will this entail? It’s the combination of these factors that has led to what you’re seeing now," said Budanov.
When asked whether Ukrainians will be able to be sure that after the war ends it will not be Putin who will be gone but some of his doubles, the head of military intelligence expressed the opinion that it is already the problem of the Russians - to find out what kind of fools their authorities think they are.
"And what, will be the difference if Russia’s conditional leader is someone else? Yes, there’s thirst for justice, I understand everyone. But what do we need most now? We need victory," said Budanov.
As reported earlier, Andrii Yusov, a spokesman for the Main Intelligence Directorate, said that the purges in the Russian military leadership will continue.
Photo: GUR
