In 2007, russia began an active preparation for aggression against Ukraine, in 2014 they took advantage of a convenient moment in order to strike the first attack.

Major General Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, stated this in an interview with Dmytro Komarov in a special project “A Year Off-Screen. The Intelligence Officer”.

“If the war had not started in 2014, it would not have changed anything. The war between us was inevitable,” Budanov emphasized, having added that the russians initially planned to launch a full-scale attack in March 2021.

“Their plans were revealed. Then it was decided to make public all available materials to Western partners in order to diplomatically prevent the attack somehow with their help. Then it worked. But the russians never left the places where they began to concentrate just between February and March until April 2021,” said the Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.