Recently Ukrainskaya Pravda’s Roman Kravets sat down with Kiril Budanov, head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense. Since the beginning of the war, Budanov has become one of the most authoritative Ukrainian sources on the conflict. He accurately predicted that Russia would initiate hostilities with Ukraine a year before the invasion. In late May of this year the young intelligence expert predicted that by August Ukrainian forces would be able to launch an offensive that would reclaim most lost territory by the end of the year. The subsequent summer offensives and ongoing push in the south toward Kherson and in the Donbas are the fruit of those predictions.

The Crimean Bridge Will Cease to Exist: Interview with the Head Ukrainian Military Intelligence — The Smith Papers