War until 2026 and the Russian trace in Gaza: what Budanov revealed in a new interview 

Kyrylo Budanov told "Ukrainska Pravda" about the war and its end, about the battle for electricity and the fate of the "wagnerites” after Prigozhin's death. 

Read the main theses from the new interview of the Chief Intelligence Officer of Ukraine on TSN.ua. 

The war in Ukraine will not end this year 

Kyrylo Budanov admitted that it is impossible to end the war by the end of 2023, despite his previous forecasts. According to the Chief of the Defence Intelligence, there are various reasons for this. 

"There are objective and subjective reasons – it's all in a complex. But, excuse me, most of the explanations for this are considered state secrets and are simply not for public discussion. Over time, it will all become clear," he said. 

When asked by a journalist how far behind schedule Ukraine is, Budanov responded: "We've slipped off it. We're not behind; we've slipped off. That's a very different interpretation. Not everything went as planned. Let's avoid specifying and explaining it all – we've slipped off the schedule – let everyone draw their own conclusions." 

At the same time, Budanov expressed hope that Bahmut will be liberated by the end of 2023. 

How long can the war in Ukraine last? 

In general, according to Budanov, Russia can wage war against Ukraine until 2026 at most, because they will have problems with the economy and technology. 

"In terms of their economy, Russia can afford this war without significant problems until 2025. In terms of their military equipment, they can manage until 2026 at most. Perhaps a bit sooner, as the pace of equipment recovery they're going through right now is not that high. So, we're looking at around 2025. In terms of human resources, it's clear that they have enough for a long time. But, regardless of what anyone might say, if we assess our human resources in aggregate, there's enough on our side too. Our country is not that small," said Budanov. 

Winter in Ukraine is expected to bring another battle for electricity

The Chief of the Defence Intelligence is convinced that Russia has not abandoned its plans and will resume attacks on Ukraine's energy system. Last year, during the same period, Russia conducted massive shelling of our energy infrastructure, and the same is expected this year. 

"In their (Russian) plans, there are no particular adjustments, so they will continue doing this in the upcoming season. Unfortunately, we will face another battle for electricity," said Budanov.

According to his information, the Russian military has enough forces and means for new terrorist acts because lately they have been conducting limited missile strikes. Now the enemy has replenished a certain stockpile. It is not very significant but sufficient to create "quite real problems" not only for our energy sector but also for the oil and gas industry, industrial enterprises, and military facilities, says Budanov. Due to this, Ukraine needs more air defense systems to protect the skies from enemy attacks. 

The situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant 

The situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant remains critical, according to Budanov, as the plant remains under occupation. While nothing has changed significantly, the crisis moment when the Russians tried to create a man-made disaster at the plant has passed. 

"The only thing is that the moment of crisis, thank God, we passed. I will not reveal to you the information, how and what was done for this. But we passed it at that time. However, this does not remove the question of what, if Russia wants to do something similar again, it will have all the opportunities for this," warned the Chief of the Defence Intelligence. 

The death of Prigozhin: true or fake 

According to Budanov, the Defence Intelligence still has no evidence of the death of the leader of the wagnerites, Yevhen Prigozhin. 

"Regarding the death of Prigozhin, let's say this: all I can tell you is that until now we do not have a single fact confirming his death. I don't know if he died or not," Budanov said. 

At the same time, the information about Prigozhin's death has caused "certain weakening" within the “Wagner” PMC. According to the Chief of the Defence Intelligence, this plays into Ukraine's hands.  

"Wagner" was a very serious adversary when it acted as the PMC... It was actually a huge problem for Ukraine. No matter what anyone says, they knew how to fight," Budanov admitted and added that after the PMC left Bakhmut, they would no longer be in Ukraine as part of a military company.  

The Russian trace in the actions of HAMAS against Israel 

Currently, the Defence Intelligence knows that the Russians passed on intelligence information to "all interested parties" and handed over weapons seized from the Ukrainian military to HAMAS. 

"First of all, we are well aware that captured weapons from Ukraine were indeed transferred by the Russians to the HAMAS group. Mostly, it's infantry weaponry. There is some information about it reaching Hezbollah, but for now, we don't have accurate details," said Budanov. 

He also drew attention to the use of tactics by militants against Israel using FPV drones against armored vehicles. The head of the GUR noted that this tactic is "natural for our region and completely unnatural for the Middle East." 

"This is the know-how of our war after all. No one other than people who passed through our theater of war could do such a thing. Since we were not there, it means that it was the Russians," said Budanov. 

In addition, a little more than a week before the beginning of the events in Lebanon, the Russian propaganda station "Sputnik" began broadcasting in Arabic. And on September 24, a Russian satellite, capable of conducting electronic reconnaissance and intercepting satellite signals, was placed in Israel's geostationary orbit. 

Read also:

• Zelenskyy stated that Russia is not going to end the war, and named Putin's goals 

• "Risks exist": Zelenskyy made a statement about the reduction of assistance from the West

• Russia has resumed attacks in the Lymano-Kupiansk direction: what is the situation there

• The winter will be harder than last year: DTEK named the reasons

• The Russians are preparing a new wave of sabotage in Sumy region: what is known about it