Kyrylo Budanov, Head of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), says he wants to stay in his post until the war with Russia is over.

Source: Budanov in an interview with Bloomberg

Details: Budanov is set to mark five years as chief of military intelligence next month. “If I survive,” he said. When asked to elaborate, Budanov replied that “anything can happen” and referred to a memorial at the agency, which honours intelligence officers killed in action. He said there is still plenty of room for more names.

Budanov said he hopes to remain in his position until the war ends. “Now, my dream is to stop this war,” he said. “Ukraine is a country of opportunities. In future, I’ll decide what I would like to do.”

Budanov described the cooperation between Ukrainian intelligence and its Western counterparts as “excellent”, adding that he expects the information exchange to continue. He noted that Ukraine depends on the United States for early warning about missile launches and for access to satellite imagery.

Bloomberg points out that Budanov has become one of the most prominent public figures in Ukraine. A recent poll by the Rating sociological group, conducted on 4-5 July, placed Budanov among the three most trusted officials. According to the results, 56% of Ukrainians trust him, compared to 67% for President Zelenskyy and 73% for former Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

Background:

The Economist in the article Ukraine’s political infighting gets nasty wrote that Andrii Yermak, Head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, is attempting to remove Budanov for the ninth time, but he remains in office.Sources close to Yermak call Budanov an “erratic revolutionary” who is supposedly building his own political team. “Ninety per cent of the [president’s] office think he’s mad and ten per cent think he’s a genius,” one of the insiders reports.

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