On the eve of the invasion, Budanov emphasized that it could have been deterred by increased U.S. aid
Kyiv • UNN
In November 2021, the head of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, Kirill Budanov, predicted plans for a Russian invasion. He emphasized that increased aid from the United States could deter a Russian attack.
The head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, accurately predicted the enemy's plans three months before the full-scale invasion and demonstrated a map of the upcoming attack, which proved to be accurate. The head of the DIU also emphasized that a Russian attack could have deterred an increase in US aid, according to a report by LB.ua.
A photo of a map of the Russian invasion with the DIU logo appeared on the website of the influential Military Times on November 21, 2021. The map shows in detail the ways and goals of the Russian offensive: the encirclement of Mariupol, the offensive from the occupied Crimea to the south of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, the sea landing in Odesa, the capture of Kharkiv, and the attack on Kyiv from Belarus through Chornobyl. The map was provided to journalists by Kyrylo Budanov.
“Russia has amassed more than 92,000 troops near Ukraine's borders and is preparing for an attack in late January or early February. Such an attack will likely include air strikes, artillery and armored vehicle attacks, followed by airborne assaults in Odesa and Mariupol and an invasion through neighboring Belarus,” the intelligence chief said in an exclusive interview with Military Times journalist Howard Altman in November 2021.
A significant part of the conversation was devoted to the topic of assistance to Ukraine from Western allies. Budanov expressed confidence that the United States could deter any Russian invasion through additional military aid to Ukraine and increased diplomatic and economic pressure.
“We need more. No other country, except Ukraine, is at open war with Russia. And we have been for 7 years. Therefore, we are sure that the United States should give us everything we have not received before. And right now. This is the right time to do it. Because later it may be too late,” said Ukraine's top intelligence officer three months before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian hordes.
Budanov added that he had received fairly accurate information about Putin's desire to start a war from his agents, who have increased tenfold over the past few years. The head of the GUR hinted that this also includes people close to the Kremlin.
According to the article, on the evening of February 22, 2022, Volodymyr Zelenskyi gathered the heads of all parliamentary factions and groups on Bankova Street. The meeting was also attended by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and representatives of the security forces: The General Staff, the Ministry of Defense, the Security Service of Ukraine, and the GUR. However, in their speeches to the president and parliamentarians, the then Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov and the head of the SBU Ivan Bakanov mostly denied the possibility of a full-scale invasion.
“Budanov pulled out a map from his papers and, with a calm expression on his face and deep in thought, began to tell things that should have made the blood run cold in the audience: the Russians could start a war outside Donbas, Kherson and Kharkiv are under threat, there is a threat to Kyiv, the Russians could try to enter from Chornobyl,” journalists who spoke to the meeting described the meeting.
