Budanov noted that the equipment of the Russian infantry has improved, but at the same time the quality of the equipment has fallen.
The head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kirill Budanov, assessed how the Russian army has changed over the two years of war in Ukraine.
“We must remember that war is always an insane development. In any country in the world, war has always given rise to technological, industrial, and the like. Despite the fact that these are huge costs and destruction, it is always development. This happens to them, this happens with us, this must also be understood,” Budanov noted in an interview with the BBC.
The head of the Main Intelligence Directorate said that the equipment of the Russian infantryman had improved, but at the same time the quality of the equipment had dropped.
“There is little new equipment, there is not enough of it. This is all repaired, restored equipment from warehouses for long-term storage of weapons. There is no point in talking about quality there, and there is no need for that quality,” he noted.
As for the quality of personnel, according to Budanov, those who participated in the first wave of a full-scale invasion in 2022 were “true professionals, contract soldiers with normal combat experience.” But now there are almost none left, Russia is fighting mobilized, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate emphasized.
Accordingly, the Russian occupiers have no morale. After Avdeevka it intensified somewhat, but it was a temporary phenomenon.
“In principle, there is no particular point for those who are mobilized. They fight for money, because they were called up, because they were forced to be drafted, and so on. That is, “go forward.” Well, this is also the Russian mentality that plays an important role. “Go forward,” as in they say, and the Russian guy goes there. He doesn’t really think about what will happen to him. But to say that he’s trying hard is also not true,” he noted.
When asked about the presence of Russian intelligence in Ukraine, Budanov replied that “they are obtaining the necessary data and trying to influence. This is there, this is a fact.” He added that with regard to cyber development and electronic intelligence, they have intensified.
Budanov about the war in Ukraine
Budanov noted that from mid-May a rather difficult situation is expected in Ukraine, including at the front, but it will not be catastrophic.
He also said that the war can only be ended by returning Ukraine to the 1991 borders. This will probably take a long period of time.
