Kyrylo Budanov: Russian professional army ran out as back as last autumn

The war has not benefited the Putin regime, it is not as powerful as it wants to appear, and Russia's military power has degraded significantly.

This opinion was expressed by Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, at the Annual meeting of the Yalta European Strategy (YES) "The Future Is Being Decided in Ukraine" organised by YES in partnership with the Victor Pinchuk Foundation. 

"The war has not benefited the Putin regime: The economy is failing, and that's a fact. Finances rest on reserves, and military power has been severely decimated during the war. Generally speaking, the professional army ran out last autumn. Now mobilised soldiers are fighting in their army. The production of new weapons and equipment is utterly insufficient," said the Lieutenant General. 

Kyrylo Budanov also shared his thoughts on the escalation, stressing that this is the first war where absolutely all types of weapons have been used. 

"What escalation are we talking about if absolutely all types of weapons are used; from submarines to strategic bombers? We need to change the logic: not everything is in the hands of the Russian Federation, and not everything is in the hands of other players on the world stage, something depends on us," stated Kyrylo Budanov. 

He also warned against euphoria and exhilarated sentiments, as the enemy is learning its lessons, including by adopting successful Ukrainian tactics. 

"In terms of creativity and flexibility, we still beat Russia. Putin's regime is no longer as powerful. But the enemy has not yet been defeated, and you can't just say that everything is absolutely bad for them. They are adapting. They have built more than one line of defence well. Yet our advancement goes on!" concluded Kyrylo Budanov.