Ukraine's top intelligence official admits counteroffensive failed
(Baonghean.vn) - Kirill Budanov, head of the Main Directorate of Military Intelligence of Ukraine (GUR), admitted that Ukraine's counter-offensive campaign is not going according to plan.
In an interview with Ukrainskaya Pravda on October 12, the head of the intelligence agency said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces were not only behind schedule but also completely off-schedule, after a number of things did not go as “smoothly” as expected. However, Mr. Budanov refused to explain what “off-schedule” actually meant, emphasizing that everyone should “draw their own conclusions.”
In February, Mr Budanov said Kiev had every chance to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict this year. However, he now admits that the picture has changed. He did not elaborate on the reasons, saying only that “most of the explanations for this are state secrets.”
Additionally, Mr. Budanov said that continued supplies of weapons and other aid to the Ukrainian military could be hampered by the protracted conflict in the Middle East, referring to the recent escalation between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza.
“If the conflict lasts only a few weeks, then in principle there is nothing to worry about… However, if the situation drags on, there will obviously be a number of problems, namely the supply of weapons and ammunition not only to Ukraine,” Budanov said, noting that the world is “rapidly moving towards global war.”
The problems in Ukraine’s counter-offensive have also been acknowledged by President Volodymyr Zelensky, who last month said the campaign had been slowed by Russian air superiority and blamed the West for failing to provide Ukrainian forces with the weapons they needed.
Western military officials have also said that Russia’s defenses have proven more resilient than expected. Britain’s Chief of the Defence Staff, General Tony Radakin, admitted last month that the Russia-Ukraine conflict could last “some time” and that Western expectations of what Kiev’s forces could achieve in the near future needed to be “adjusted.”
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed last week that the Ukrainian army had lost up to 90,000 troops since launching a counter-offensive in June. According to President Putin, although no significant progress has been made, Kiev has also lost nearly 1,900 armored vehicles and about 557 tanks./.
