Russia to see its offensive potential exhaust within next six months - Ukraine’s top spy

He spoke in an interview with CNN, Ukrinform reports.

Budanov also suggested that drone attacks on Russian infrastructure could intensify. He neither confirmed nor denied Ukraine's involvement in drone strikes targeting facilities on Russian soil, but noted that such operations are "quite possible."

“Hypothetically, there is a plan according to which all this happens,” he said. “And I believe that this plan includes all the major critical infrastructure facilities and military infrastructure facilities of the Russian Federation,” said the head of the GUR.

According to the defense intelligence chief, since Russia is continually learning from its combat experience, there is a trend towards even greater use of unmanned aerial vehicles on and above the Ukraine battlefields.

He emphasized that Ukraine holds its positions in the air above the frontlines. " “It is precisely in unmanned systems that we are more or less equal,” Budanov said.

He emphasized that now average Russians finally see the real picture of the war. They see burning oil depots, destroyed buildings in factories and plants. "This is all beneficial," Budanov noted.

At the same time, he emphasized the need for more Western support. According to him, artillery systems and howitzers are at the top of the list of needs, and Ukraine needs a "sharp increase" in the supply of susch systems, regardless of their age and type.

Ammunition is vital too, he said, as “shells are one of the most decisive factors in this war.”

“Not so much the quality as the quantity,” he added.

Budanov also noted he wants to see ground-attack aircraft like the American A-10 in Ukrainian hands. “This is what can really help inflict a military defeat” on Russia, he said.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Budanov stated that Russia’s latest offensive operation in Ukraine, which the aggressor state unleashed in November 2023, will have been completely exhausted by early spring.