General Major Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, told in the interview with Der SPIEGEL about why the Russia’s attack on Kyiv failed and what weapons Ukraine would like from Germany.

When asked by journalist Christian Esch, why did russia decide to withdraw its troops from Kyiv region, the head of the Ukraine’s military intelligence said that the occupation forces did not just pull back, they were expelled from Kyiv region by Ukraine’s Armed Forces.

The expell started when the Army took control over the town of Irpin. This threatened to cut off part of their forces in Kyiv region. The russians quickly realized that in just a few days, they found themselves in the same situation that they like to inflict on the enemy – encircling and dividing their forces. So they decided to retreat.

“I am amazed at how incompetently and carelessly russian commanders have approached such a large operation. If they really believed that they could do it in three days – and, as far as we know, they absolutely believed that they could – then the russian leadership is probably wondering whether their generals are competent at all. They took their wishful thinking for reality,” the DIU chief said. He also commented on the combat losses among the russian military command.

“We asked ourselves this question. And we found only one answer: the extremely low professional level of the generals. One of the reasons for this is nepotism in the russian army, sham generals, relatives of some officials who do not meet the performance criteria and are not ready to solve tasks. Take the Chornobaivka case! This is a monument to idiocy,” said Kyrylo Budanov.

Asked by Christian Esch what Russia's strategic goals are and how they have changed, the Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine said that the goal of military aggression remained unchanged: an operation to destroy Ukraine's statehood. Ukraine must cease to exist as a state. This is their main goal, and Putin hasn’t given up on his plans. How exactly they would achieve this goal, Russia doesn’t fully understand, and it’s also characteristic of their tactics. But they wanted, firstly, to plant a Russian-controlled government here in Kyiv, and secondly, to put Ukraine back into the Russian sphere of influence forever. This didn’t happen and can’t happen, especially after the atrocities and war crimes witnessed by the whole world.

Asked what weapons Ukraine needs to repel Russian aggression, Major General Budanov said the country needs artillery systems, such as the German army has. The Ukrainian military also needs tanks due to heavy losses of armoured vehicles. The rest are standard equipment: anti-aircraft complexes and electronic intelligence systems.

You can read full interview with General Major Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, by pressing at a link.