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Kyrylo Budanov

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reportedly pulled back on a threat to dismiss commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi, according to media reports 31 January 2024, as relations remain strained. Zelenskyy reportedly threatened to dismiss Zaluzhnyi by presidential decree but was forced to back down after potential successors signaled that they would refuse to assume the post. After Zaluzhny told his subordinates he was leaving, senior commanders and international partners, including the United States and Britain, expressed concern. According to reports, the commander of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi and the head of Ukrainian intelligence, Kyryll Budanov, both refused to replace Zaluzhny.

By mid-2023 Zelensky and Zaluzhny were in a major dispute as to who would take reponsibility for mobilizing the extra half million troops that Zaluzhny had said were needed. But Budanov took issue with the need for such a broad recuitment. He said 17 December 2023 that one of the main issues in this regard is the motivation of citizens. "The following question arises: all people who wanted to come, they came. Who is being called up now? Unfortunately, there will be no good answer here. If we do not find any motivation for them, then no matter how many people – forcibly, not forcibly or according to some legal norms - we would drive [into the army], their efficiency will be almost zero. In principle, this is what has been happening recently, and this must be frankly acknowledged..."

Unlike Oleksandr Syrskyi, Kyrylo Budanov is not considered Yermak's man. Moreover, he has his own direct channel of communication with President Zelensky and was previously considered one of Yermak's alternative channels of communication to Zelensky. Budanov is a blend of James Bond and George Patton. He evokes the remark of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, wh said "Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look, He thinks too much; such men are dangerous."

For an intelligence chief running Ukraine's spy operations during war with Russia, Kyrylo Budanov had built up an unusually public presence by age, 37 Kyrylo Budanov is a Ukrainian military officer who was appointed as the Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine [GUR] in 2020. He has served in various capacities in the Ukrainian military, including in the ongoing conflict in Eastern Ukraine. By 2019, according to media reports, there were at least 10 attempts to assassinate a spy. Although at that time he was not yet the head of GUR. In April 2023, Russia decided to "arrest in absentia" the head of the GUR, accusing him of a "terrorist attack." Budanov answered this succinctly - he said that "he is pleased". For him, this is an indicator of good work.

Kyrylo Oleksiyovych Budanov was born on January 4, 1986 in Kyiv. The head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense, Kyrylo Budanov, is the youngest head of this institution during its entire existence. The attention of the Ukrainian and international mass media is drawn to him. Almost nothing is known about the childhood of the chief scout and his young years. In particular, there is no information in open sources about who Budanov's parents are and what they do. In one of the interviews, Budanov said that he had been thinking about the path of a scout since childhood. Actually, in his early years, he firmly decided that he wanted to be a soldier when he grew up.

Also, little is known about the family of the head of the GUR. Marianna, the wife of Kirill Budanov, is a psychologist by profession. At the same time, it is known that she ran for the Kyiv City Council and for some time was an adviser to Vitaliy Klitschko on issues of detection and prevention of corruption in the field of youth politics and sports. In one of the interviews, Budanov said that he had been thinking about the path of a scout since childhood. Actually, in his early years, he firmly decided that he wanted to be a soldier when he grew up.

Also, little is known about the family of the head of the GUR. Marianna, the wife of Kirill Budanov, is a psychologist by profession. At the same time, it is known that she ran for the Kyiv City Council and for some time was an adviser to Vitaliy Klitschko on issues of detection and prevention of corruption in the field of youth politics and sports.

Before being appointed as the Chief of the Defence Intelligence, Budanov served as the commander of the Special Operations Forces from 2018 to 2020. In this position, he oversaw several successful operations against separatist forces in the Donbass region. Budanov had also been outspoken about the challenges Ukraine faces from Russian military intervention and worked to modernize Ukraine's military intelligence capabilities.

After February 24, 2022, Budanov permanently lived in the building of the Main Directorate of Intelligence. In one of the interviews, he even noted that his wife moved there after the start of the full-scale invasion.

Before becoming head of Ukrainian intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov had come a long way. He was born on January 4, 1986 in Kyiv. In 2007, he graduated from the Odessa Institute of Ground Forces. It was in this educational institution that he received his main education. After graduating from the institute, he served in the special forces of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, where he held various positions.

Since the spring of 2014, he participated in hostilities in Donbas. He had several injuries, one of which was serious. On August 6-8, 2016, he conducted a special operation in the city of Armyansk on the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea. From 2018 to 2020, he was on a special job. In 2020, he became the deputy director of the Department of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine.

On August 5, 2020, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, appointed Kyryl Budanov as the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. Budanov replaced Vasyl Burba in this position. On August 24, 2021, he was awarded the military rank of brigadier general. On April 3, 2022, he was awarded the military rank of major general.

Award include Full Knight of the Order "For Courage", "Cross of Combat Merit", "Participant of ATO", "For Military Victory", "Defender of the Fatherland" and others.

It was impossible to ignore the figure of the head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence, who was a fairly well-known person in the Ukrainian and foreign media space. However, despite this, society knows very few facts from the life of the chief intelligence officer, who during his career took part in quite interesting events. For several years of working as the head of domestic intelligence he became widely known due to the effective operations of special services and forecasts regarding the further course of the war and the fate of the aggressor.

As the head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence, Budanov continued to motivate commanders and fighters, directly participating in special operations. Information about this was reported by the spokesman of the GUR, Andriy Yusov, in an interview with "UP" and confirmed by the press service of the GUR of the MoD. According to Andrii Yusov, Kyrylo Budanov sometimes joins special operations. One of these tasks was carried out by the head of the GUR in April of last year.

"The special operation to liberate the village of Ruska Lozova in Kharkiv Oblast at the end of April 2022 is not the only example and not the only operation in which Kyrylo Oleksiyovych Budanov took a direct part. By his own example, he shows soldiers and even commanders an example of motivation, planning and implementation of tasks," said Andriy Yusov.

According to the representative of the GUR, such activities of Kirill Budanov improve the effectiveness of intelligence. The fact that the head of the GUR works directly on the spot allows more responsible and necessary decisions to be made. At the same time, Yusov stated that there were more than ten assassination attempts on Kyryll Budanov.

A visible political ambition is detectable when it comes to Budanov. The publicity of the head of intelligence and his statements have an essentially political undertone. Some insiders say his ambitions are spurred on by the presidential circle, who see him as a future political ally.

Journalists noticed the map in the office of Budanov at the end of 2022. On it, Kursk and Belgorod regions, as well as Kuban, were circled with a black marker. The Kaliningrad region was signed "FRG", the letter "F" stood in Karelia and the northwest, the Caucasus was called "Ichkeria", the central regions and part of Siberia were signed "CAR", in the Far East - the letter "K", in the Kuril Islands - "Japan". Kyrylo Oleksiyovych gave the volunteers a thing dear to him with a visualization of the future of Russia, so that the Prytula Foundation would turn it into drones for the GUR attack aircraft. The auction took place on 23 July 2023, live on Prytula's Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky on 22 Octobe 2024 denied persistent rumors in Kiev that he intends to fire the defense minister and military intelligence chief, ostensibly over frontline failures. Earlier this month multiple outlets reported that there have been discussions about replacing Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and the head of the military intelligence service (HUR), Kirill Budanov. “I was not planning to do this,” Zelensky told reporters after meetings with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday evening. “I did not plan to replace Budanov. This information was circulating, yes. There was no such issue about Umerov either.” A move to oust Budanov was reported by Forbes Ukraine and other media outlets earlier this month. According to Forbes’ sources, the HUR head has “strained relations” with Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, as well as General Aleksandr Syrsky, the supreme commander of the Ukrainian armed forces.

Yermak, who several Ukrainian officials have described to Western media as the real power in Kiev, appeared to be Budanov’s main detractor. Forbes has reported that Zelensky wanted to fire Budanov because he was unhappy with several failed HUR operations. The HUR head has also reportedly conducted operations without informing Syrsky or coordinating with the General Staff. Other outlets in Kiev went so far as to speculate that the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, Oleg Ivashchenko, could be appointed to replace Budanov.