Ukraine's Intelligence Chief said that only Russia will benefit from the Pentagon's documents leak

Kyrylo Budanov, the Chief of Ukrainian Defence Intelligence, has said that Russia will benefit the most from the large-scale leak of US government secrets that has dominated news headlines in recent days.

Source: Kyrylo Budanov, the Chief of Ukrainian Defence Intelligence, in an interview with the ABC News channel

Quote: "Russia is the only beneficiary of this. We will get the final answer only after the completion of the investigation... We have communication with the relevant services in the U.S., and from literally the first hours, we started to talk."

Details: Major General Kyrylo Budanov made this comment on Wednesday evening in his office in Kyiv. He declined to comment on some of the most explosive revelations from the leak, including that US officials were listening in on internal Ukrainian discussions about the task of striking targets deep in Russia.

Budanov told ABC News that information warfare is nothing new.

The head of Ukrainian intelligence is convinced that there is "no risk" that the matter would damage relations between Ukraine and the United States.

He also doesn't expect the data leak to have much of an impact on the course of the war.

Quote: "If there is a problem, it will be solved. If there is no problem, even better. This will not be able to affect the real results of the offensive operation."

Details: Budanov spoke of the Ukrainian military's ability to succeed in a future and long-awaited counteroffensive against Russian forces, while US officials suggested in private conversations that success would be more modest than last year's lightning operation, which returned vast swathes of territory to Ukrainian government control.

"What will be the results of these actions? I think that, in the near future, everyone will see and feel it," said the Chief of Ukrainian Defence Intelligence.

However, Budanov admitted that "the success of this offensive operation is badly needed", not only for the Ukrainians but also for the allies who supply them with funds and ammunition.

"Without victories, sooner or later, questions will be asked whether it's worth continuing to support Ukraine," he said, although he did not hear that further support from the West would depend on success on the battlefield.

Budanov again promised to take back the Crimean peninsula and mocked Russian President Vladimir Putin's undisguised nuclear threats and the failed "winter offensive" that ended with minimal gains and heavy losses.

Studying a map of Russia, Budanov predicted "seismic change" in the neighbouring country, which he believes will play a role in ending Vladimir Putin's war in favour of Ukraine.

Quote: "Borders can be changed. This is an artificially created mistake and, now, the moment has come for this country to collapse."

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