Ukraine affirms that "the situation is stagnant" due to the lack of progress in the war with Russia

The head of Ukraine's military intelligence services says that Moscow "is completely at a dead end"

MADRID, 29 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The head of Ukraine's military intelligence services, Kirilo Budanov, has stated that "the situation is stagnant" given the lack of progress by any of the parties in the framework of the Russian invasion, unleashed on February 24 by order of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"It doesn't move," he said in an interview with the British BBC television channel, at a time when the epicenter of the fighting is around the city of Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region (east).

Thus, he has emphasized that Russia "is completely at a dead end" given the losses suffered during the fighting, before expressing that he considers that Moscow could soon announce another mobilization to reinforce its offensive.

"We can't defeat them decisively in all directions. Neither can they," he said. "We are waiting for the new supply of weapons and the arrival of more advanced weapons," explained Budanov, who has also ruled out the relevance of the Russian movements in Belarus.

Ukrainian authorities have warned in recent weeks of the possibility of Russia launching a ground offensive from Belarus in early 2023, including a new attempt to seize the capital kyiv. However, Budanov has pointed out that the Russian movements in the neighboring country are an attempt to divert attention and force Ukraine to send troops to the area from other active fronts.

In this sense, he has revealed that a train full of Russian soldiers moved to an area near the common border, only to return hours later with everyone on board. "They did it openly, during the day, so that everyone could see it, even if they didn't want to," she argued.

"For now I do not see any signs of preparations for an invasion of kyiv or areas to the north (of the capital) from Belarus," he noted, while stressing that the Belarusian population would not support involvement in the war. "That is why (Belarusian) President Lukashenko is taking all possible steps to avoid a disaster for his country," he said.

On the other hand, he has stated that the fighting around Bakhmut is being spearheaded by the Wagner Group, owned by Yevgeni Prigozhin, an oligarch close to Putin, in an attempt by Moscow to cut Ukraine's supply lines and open a route to Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.

Budanov has also indicated that Russia will continue its bombing campaign, which has been intensified since mid-October to include numerous critical Ukrainian infrastructures, although he has hinted that Moscow may not maintain this level of attacks due to the decline in its missile reserves.

During the day of this Thursday, the Ukrainian authorities have denounced a new wave of attacks "with more than a hundred missiles" and drones, without there being any information on victims for the moment. Russia has not ruled on the objectives of these bombings.