Russia is not ready for long-term hostilities in Ukraine, despite the next three months at the front will be very active and will decide the further course of events. The head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Major General Kyrylo Budanov, stated this in an interview with “Voice of America”:
- Russia was never able to fulfill any of its strategic tasks;
- as of now, armaments are proceeding, but the pace and volumes are not sufficient for a breakthrough; each time the time between missile strikes increases, and the number of missiles in the strikes decreases;
- in fact, almost the only country that actually transfers more or less serious weapons to Russia is Iran;
- Serbia, which everyone in Russia hoped for, refused to transfer weapons. There are certain attempts to buy through third countries (in particular, Myanmar) — to import weapons on a more or less large scale;
- in the current conditions, Russia cannot afford to admit that it will lose;
- the next three months will be quite active, they will determine the further course of events;
- the sooner the Russians leave Ukraine, the more in theory they will have a chance to keep their territory within more or less similar borders;
- the experience of Israel will most likely come to us for a certain number of years;
- exchanges for the return of prisoners of war continue, and about 2 thousand people have already been returned;
- 90% of all prisoners of war were captured by the Russians in the first days. About 40% of those held hostage are civilians;
- the russian Federation clearly understands that, first of all: nuclear weapons are not weapons – they are a means of strategic deterrence. Second: the use of a nuclear deterrent by anyone in the world will have fatal consequences for whoever does it;
- the end of the war in the first stage is the exit to the borders of 1991, in the second stage – the creation of a security zone around Ukraine, at least from the Russian side to a depth of 100 kilometers or more
