President-dictator Vladimir Putin had several options for dealing with Ukraine ahead of a full-scale invasion on February 24th.
After lunch on February 23, he made the final decision to attack Ukraine and chose open aggression. Defense Ministry intelligence chief Kirill Budanov called it “absolutely pointless, as they say, an animal option.”
The head of the main intelligence department said this in an interview with Ukrayinska Pravda.
“Putin made the final decision to start hostilities around 15:00 on the 23rd. Until lunch on the 23rd, there were still certain hesitations, preparations, and so on. Until that date, he could use any option,” Budanov said.
According to him, the Russian announcer made the decision personally and no one had much influence on it.
“On the day the war began, he (Putin – Ed.) personally brought the commanders of all groups into contact, heard a formal report on readiness to start, and formally personally gave the command to start military aggression,” the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate emphasized.
Budanov says: Putin believed that no later than on the third day it would be possible to capture the administrative buildings of Kyiv, and no later than on the tenth day to complete the active military phase – to completely destroy any resistance.
He explained that the authorities did not inform the public in advance that Russia was preparing an attack, so as not to cause panic.
“In order not to cause an early panic, which Russia really wanted to achieve in Ukraine, so that there would be no significant fluctuations in the exchange rate, capital outflow, the investment climate, so that at least some other economic aspects would be maintained,” Budanov explained.
Recall that on February 24, Russia attacked Ukraine, inflicting a series of missile and air strikes on our cities, including Kyiv. The large-scale invasion has been going on for 90 days. The enemy is shelling the Armed Forces of Ukraine along the entire line of confrontation and in the depths of defense in the Donetsk, Slobozhansky and Yuzhnobuzhsky operational areas. More details about the situation at the front can be found in the morning summary of the General Staff on May 24.
