Russia's professional army destroyed by 2023, now fights with mobilized troops - Ukraine's spy chief

He said this in an interview with Ukrinform.

“The professional army was effectively destroyed by around 2023, and now Russia relies on mobilized troops. Although they are formally considered contract soldiers, the approach remains the same — people are recruited, given at most two weeks [of training], and then sent to the front. They are fighting purely with numbers,” Budanov stated.

He also noted that Russia’s objectives remain unchanged — they have not abandoned them and continue to discuss them publicly.

"Their supreme leader insists that the goals of the 'special military operation' must be achieved. As was rightly pointed out, 'Kyiv in three days' has now turned into the third anniversary of the full-scale invasion. Clearly, something did not go as planned," added the head of the Intelligence Directorate.

• The head of Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, believes that Ukraine can quickly reach a ceasefire with Russia, but peace is unlikely.