Ukrainian intelligence has informants close to Putin's inner circle, says Budanov

Ukraine's Defense Intelligence has sources in the closest offices to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, the agency’s head Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview with Reuters published on July 14.

To prove his point, Budanov mentioned that Ukrainian intelligence intercepted an internal survey of the Russian Interior Ministry, which showed that Russians supported the leader of Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Read also: Budanov says number of Ukrainian intelligence agents in Putin's entourage is growing

The military intelligence chief also recalled that he had accurately predicted a full-scale invasion by Russian occupation forces before the start of the all-out war in February 2022.

"Who turned out to be right? Us," he added. “We have our own sources. In the closest offices (to Putin - ed.), so to say. This is why we usually know what's going on.”

Read also: Prigozhin's rebellion could have split Russia into two, Ukraine’s spy chief says

The Wagner mutiny - What we know

Prigozhin announced the beginning of an armed conflict with the Russian Defense Ministry on the evening of June 23, claiming that he wanted to “restore justice” in Russia.

He said that the Russian army struck the mercenaries’ “rear camp.” However, the conflict between Prigozhin and Shoigu had started months earlier.

For the past few months, the Wagner leader has been persistently demanding the resignation of the Russian defense minister, accusing him of poor management of the Russian armed forces and of not supplying enough ammunition to Wagner forces.

The next day, Wagner forces seized control over the main military facilities in the cities of Rostov-on-Don and Voronezh. They also shot down seven Russian Air Force aircraft.

Read also: What awaits Wagner, Prigozhin, Lukashenko

Prigozhin then demanded meetings with Russia’s top military leadership and threatened to “advance towards Moscow” in a video address shot in Rostov-on-Don.

Putin, in turn, posted a video address saying that the Russian Armed Forces had ordered to eliminate those who led the “rebellion”.

The Wagnerites’ convoys nevertheless moved towards Moscow in a “march for justice,” as Prigozhin called it.

The FSB charged Prigozhin with “inciting insurrection,” while the security forces were preparing to defend Moscow. Putin is believed to have fled the capital to his residence in Valdai, northwest of Moscow.

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko held talks with Prigozhin as his mercenaries closed in on Moscow, Lukashenko’s press office stated, culminating in a deal where Prigozhin agreed to halt his forces’ advance on the Russian capital – in exchange for dropping charges and changes at the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Soon after, the warlord ordered Wagner mercenaries to turn back from Moscow and return to their combat positions, while Prigozhin himself would head to Belarus.

Budanov commented on Prigozhin's failed mutiny and his decision to "turn the columns" from outside Moscow, suggesting that Prigozhin was eventually convinced after appealing to his "patriotism" as Belarusian savage Alexander Lukashenko and others were able to convey to him that his actions would tear Russia apart.

Read also: Moscow court arrests Ukraine’s intelligence chief Budanov in absentia over ‘terrorism’

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine