Ukraine: Intelligence chief threatens to ‘step up’ attacks on Russian soil

Ukraine may increasingly launch attacks on Russia. The head of Ukrainian military intelligence (GUR), Kirill Budanov, this Thursday threatens to “multiply” those who target infrastructure on Russian soil.

“The number of attacks on Russian infrastructure will likely increase (…) I think this plan may include all major critical and military infrastructures of Russia,” the soldier said in a Telegram message.

In recent months, Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, has stepped up attacks on Russian oil and gas facilities following attacks by Moscow, the Russian capital, on its energy infrastructure. Ukraine has already claimed responsibility for several drone attacks on targets in the Leningrad region around St. Petersburg in January.

“Russian civilians are finally waking up to the reality of war”

On the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, the Main Intelligence Directorate used a drone to attack an oil refinery in St. Petersburg, the second largest city in Russia, located 1,000 km from the border with Ukraine. “Russia’s civilian population is finally waking up to the reality of war. She sees burning oil depots, destroyed factories and industrial buildings (…) All this is useful,” Budanov explains in a message relaying an interview with American television CNN.

This strategy, adopted by Kiev, should allow it to free itself from pressure from the Russian army to take the initiative in the Donbass (eastern Ukraine) to push it to withdraw part of its arsenal and personnel head-on. Ukraine has also set itself another goal for 2024: driving the Russians out of its skies, although it does not yet have the planes its Western allies promised it in 2023.

Kirill Budanov also estimated that American A-10 attack aircraft will help “inflict a military defeat” on Russia. “A-10 attack aircraft could significantly enhance Ukraine’s capabilities on the front line (…) They could actually contribute to the military defeat of Russia,” he said, referring to these ground-based weapons with a formidable reputation.

The United States is Kyiv’s main military and financial sponsor. But the latest aid package is still blocked in Congress, the US parliament, due to differences between the Democratic and Republican parties. Ukraine’s other major backers, the 27 European Union (EU) member states, are meeting this Thursday in Brussels, Belgium, the European capital, to try to authorize €50 billion in aid to Kyiv. For now, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest EU ally, is vetoing the aid.