Ukraine's Defence Intelligence chief warns of impact of US intelligence limits on Ukraine
Ukraine’s reliance on US satellite intelligence consists of two elements: free access under aid programmes and paid commercial contracts.
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Kyrylo Budanov
Ukraine is critically dependent on the United States in two areas — satellite imagery, radar and optical.
Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence, said this in a public interview with the LB Club.
“We are critically dependent on the United States. But this dependence is split into two areas. Let me explain. We rely critically on satellite imagery — both radar and optical,” Budanov said.
He said the dependence has two elements. One is free access to satellite imagery provided as aid. The other is Ukraine’s paid contracts.
“If the assistance component is switched off, optical imagery would be reduced by roughly 15–17%, and radar imagery by about 46%. That would be hard, but not critical. It becomes critical if a political decision is taken to block the contracts — then we drop almost to zero,” Budanov said.
He also noted that another area of critical dependence is the ballistic missile early warning system. In most other intelligence areas, Ukraine relies primarily on its own capabilities.