During the 20th annual Yalta European Strategy (YES) meeting in Kyiv, Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine‘s military intelligence chief, made several statements. He expressed concern over North Korea‘s significant military support to Russia, specifically their supply of ballistic missiles. When asked to rank the countries offering the most military support to Russia, Budanov placed North Korea at the top, stating that they are followed by a significant gap before any other country. This highlights the large volume of supplies that North Korea provides to Russia.
Budanov also mentioned that Russia has increased its missile production, including Iskander missiles and guided aerial bombs. In another interview, he stated that Russia aims to end the war by the end of 2025 or early 2026 due to expected economic and social crises. He explained that by summer 2025, Russia will face serious economic problems and may be forced into further mobilization.
According to Budanov, Russia predicts that by the summer of 2025, the negative impact on their economy will be noticeable. In February 2024, U.S. intelligence estimated that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has spent up to $211 billion on military operations in Ukraine. The war has also cost Russia up to $1.3 trillion in lost economic growth through 2026, according to an undisclosed source in U.S. intelligence who spoke to Reuters.
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