Ukraine’s intelligence chief recalls first days of full-scale invasion
Pravda Ukraine
Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), moved into the building of the Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine on the eve of a full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022, and spoke with Andrii Yermak, the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, at 03:30.
Source: new episode of Ukrainska Pravda’s podcast 24.02: Reconstruction (English translation to follow shortly)
Quote from Budanov: “The Russians kept postponing the date. For the last two weeks there, they kept pushing it back and forth by a day, or two. But on the 23rd, at around 14:30, it seems, we received clear information that the start would be at four in the morning and exactly how (it would start). This information was passed to the president. He gave the order. But just count it – there was not much time left until four in the morning.”
Details: Budanov said he and his wife moved into his office in the DIU building on 23 February.
Quote: “We went to a grocery store in Petrivka [a neighbourhood located in Kyiv’s Obolonskyi district] in the evening. I remember it well. We bought groceries there, my wife and me. We moved into my office, went to bed, talked with her, and waited. Then I took a little nap. And the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine called me at around 03:30 and said: “Well, it’s already 03:30, and everything seems calm. Maybe it will not happen?”
I say: “Well, let’s hope for the best, but I doubt it.” And so we talked with him until almost four o’clock.”
Details: Budanov also says that it was important to him that his information about the invasion turned out to be true.
Quote: “For me, you have to understand, this was also a challenge. Because if I, as the head of the special service, gave an incorrect report, it would be a shame for me.
In reality, the first attacks were at around 4:20 because the missiles were already in the air, and they were still flying for some time. That’s it, I exhaled; now we need to start working on the next issue.”
For more information about how the fronts arose and moved on 24 February, who and how heroically stopped the advance of the Russians, how our cities and the country as a whole recovered from the first shock and went on the defensive, listen to the podcast “24.02: Reconstruction” (English translation to follow shortly)
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