The army of the aggressor state of russia currently has 510,000 servicemen inside and around Ukraine. Every month, moscow is able to recruit about 30,000 new recruits to the occupation army.

This was stated by the Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

According to Kyrylo Budanov, after the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Avdiyivka, the situation at the frontline remained difficult, but russians also have problems. Occupiers use more ammunition than they can produce as well as most of tanks, delivered to the troops last year, are old.

Kyrylo Budanov added that russian professional army was largely destroyed in the first year of the full-scale invasion. Now, russians are sending untrained conscripts into battle.

The priority goal of russian troops in 2024 remains to completely occupy Donetsk and Luhansk regions, but they are unlikely to achieve it.

“They do not have enough forces,” Kyrylo Budanov said.

The Ukrainian intelligence chief emphasized the importance of further support of partner states, commenting on further depletion of the aggressor state as well as preparations for a counterattack on weakened russia in 2025.

“Will our partners be ready to provide us with weapons and ammunition for the entire year while we are preparing or not? This is an interesting question,” Kyrylo Budanov said.