Defense Intelligence Chief Budanov on Likely Duration of the War

The war between Ukraine and Russia will not last long and its active phase will end soon, Chief of Defense Intelligence of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense Kyrylo Budanov believes.

“This whole war won’t last that long. It will end soon,” Budanov said in an interview broadcast on the national telethon on Friday, Sep.30.

At the same time, answering the clarifying question of the presenter about whether it will last “two or three weeks”, he said that we are talking about a longer period.

“At the end of May, I told what the algorithm of military operations would be. Then I said bluntly that June would not be good for us, we would lose. In July there will be a conditional stagnation, and in August we will begin to gradually move towards the restoration of the territory, which it will be clear to everyone. In winter, the war will largely subside, but after the winter, the end of this conflict will begin. At the first stage, reaching the administrative borders as of 1991,” Budanov said.

He also added that, probably, the Ukrainian army will enter the territory of the Crimean peninsula by the end of spring 2023. “Perhaps a little earlier. You can make a mistake in the days, but not in the algorithm,” he said.