"No light enters the office of Ukraine’s military spymaster, Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov. The walls are fortified, the windows reinforced with sandbags, and the curtains drawn. When Budanov, 38, arrived for a Financial Times interview, walking in through a doorway adorned with a religious icon, he immediately ordered an aide to turn off the lights.
“I like the darkness,” he said.
The survivor of 10 known assassination attempts, he lives, more or less continuously, in this office on the outskirts of the capital, encamped with patriotic art and war memorabilia on the walls and his pet frog Petro swimming in a tank beside his desk.
- Budanov’s métier is running attacks behind enemy lines in Russian-occupied territory and Russia itself.
- But the spy chief rarely takes credit for them, keeping Moscow and the rest of the world guessing about his directorate’s reach and abilities. In his department’s latest feats this week, it flew attack drones as far as St Petersburg, striking an oil terminal, and targeted a gunpowder factory and an oil depot in Bryansk region, just north of the Ukrainian border.
- The brazen tactics have at times irked Ukraine’s western backers; some fear it will provoke a brutal and perhaps even nuclear response from Russian President Vladimir Putin. The spy chief is unmoved by such concerns and vows to keep operating deep inside Russia to sabotage Putin’s war machine.
“Everything we have done, we will continue to do.”
- Budanov knows this will be a trying year for Ukraine, now fighting Russia for more than a decade since the Kremlin’s soldiers, without insignia, appeared in Crimea and the eastern Ukrainian Donbas region.
“To say that there is a catastrophe is also not true.”
Ukraine will still manage to keep Putin at bay, he predicted, and has already proved that “the whole legend of [Russia’s] power is a soap bubble”.
A former special forces soldier who fought in the Donbas in 2014, Budanov has himself taken part in secret missions, including in the occupied Crimean peninsula.
- He was appointed to run the GUR by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2020.
- His covert operations — the Kremlin blamed the GUR for an explosion on the Crimean bridge in October 2022 — have revitalised the agency, which long played second fiddle to Ukraine’s much larger domestic security service, the SBU.
- For this Budanov enjoys an almost cult status among Ukrainians, who share memes with his likeness on social media when military equipment explodes in Russia or Russian-controlled areas. But it has come at a cost.
- With its hydrodynamic body and agile maneuverability, the V5 exhibits quasi-stealth capabilities.
- Measuring 5.5 meters (18 feet) in length and 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) in width, it boasts cruising speeds of 22 knots (40.7 kilometers per hour) and maximum speeds of 42 knots (77.8 kilometers per hour), with a range of approximately 833 kilometers (518 miles).
- SpecialTechnoExport and its developers highlighted its affordability and unmanned control feature, minimizing human resource requirements and risks in challenging environments, at the International Defense Industry Exhibition in July 2023.
IDEF 2023: Ukraine firm STE unveils maritime drone USV Magura V5
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The MAGURA V5, unveiled at the International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF) 2023, represents a major step forward in Ukraine's military technology.
Ukrainian maritime drone (USV) Magura V5 at IDEF 2023. (Picture source: Navy Recognition)
Notably, the V5 has already been deployed in the ongoing War in Ukraine, providing essential support and strategic advantage.
- The Magura V5's primary function is surveillance and reconnaissance, making it an invaluable asset in gathering real-time intelligence. Equipped with advanced sensory and imaging technologies, the V5 can conduct extensive sea patrols to monitor hostile activities.
- It can also contribute to search and rescue missions, offering a swift and efficient response in times of need.
- In addition to these roles, the Magura V5 is capable of mine warfare, posing a significant threat to enemy vessels.
- The V5 can stealthily place mines or use its advanced detection systems to identify and neutralize enemy mines, making the seas safer for friendly naval fleets.
- One of the most significant advantages of the Magura V5 is its autonomous functionality.
- It also boasts an impressive range of 450 nautical miles, allowing for extensive operations without refuelling.
- The maritime drone has a load capacity of 320 kg, making it capable of carrying various payloads, including surveillance equipment, rescue tools, or weapons/
Its connectivity options include a mesh radio with an air-based repeater or satellite communications (SatCom), ensuring reliable and continuous communication with command centers.
Uploaded: Oct 31, 2022
The October 29 attack on the Russian Navy in Sevastopol is historically significant. It is a glimpse into the future of naval warfare. Here's what we know about them and why. Unscripted and unedited ...
Last year, Ukraine put out an unusual crowdfunding request. It aimed to build 100 sea drones, which it would use to attack Russia’s Black Sea Fleet and ports.
Ukraine needed to protect its waters, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram in support of the United24 campaign, which had a goal of $25 million – enough to purchase 100 drones, at $250,000 a piece, USNI News previously reported.
Ukraine by no means invented lethal surface drones but the country has found new ways to use them in a conflict. Ukraine, a country without a naval fleet, has used drones and other missile strikes to largely stave off attacks from the Black Sea Fleet while slowly dismantling Russia’s dominance over the Black Sea.
Ukraine needed to protect its waters, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram in support of the United24 campaign, which had a goal of $25 million – enough to purchase 100 drones, at $250,000 a piece, USNI News previously reported.
Ukraine by no means invented lethal surface drones but the country has found new ways to use them in a conflict. Ukraine, a country without a naval fleet, has used drones and other missile strikes to largely stave off attacks from the Black Sea Fleet while slowly dismantling Russia’s dominance over the Black Sea.
'Faster than anything else in the Black Sea': See Ukraine's latest sea drone
Naval drones from the Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) of the Ministry of Defense launched an attack on the Russian amphibious assault ship Cesar Kunikov in the Black Sea off the coast of Crimea on the morning of Feb. 14, as disclosed by a source in the HUR to Kyiv Post.
According to the source, Ukrainian naval drones, specifically MAGURA V5s, were deployed during the operation. Initial battle damage assessment indicated the attack sank the Russian warship.
According to the source, Ukrainian naval drones, specifically MAGURA V5s, were deployed during the operation. Initial battle damage assessment indicated the attack sank the Russian warship.
- The source declined to disclose the exact number of drones used in the operation.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that on the pre-dawn morning of Feb. 14, air defense forces intercepted and destroyed six drones in the Black Sea waters.
But the source told Kyiv Post that Ukraine employed unspecified numbers of its MAGURA V5s, something the Kremlin did not address in its claims.
Reports from the Krymsky Veter [Crimean Wind] Telegram channel indicated hearing explosions near the occupied Crimea coast, with visible smoke in the sea.
Notably, multiple ships were active in the area, accompanied by a submarine.
But the source told Kyiv Post that Ukraine employed unspecified numbers of its MAGURA V5s, something the Kremlin did not address in its claims.
Reports from the Krymsky Veter [Crimean Wind] Telegram channel indicated hearing explosions near the occupied Crimea coast, with visible smoke in the sea.
Notably, multiple ships were active in the area, accompanied by a submarine.
OTHER TOPICS OF INTEREST
HUR Chief Budanov Vows ‘Retaliatory Actions Within Russia’ Following His Wife Poisoning
Ukraine’s spymaster admitted that he knew who was behind the poisoning of his wife and added that “in the near future, you will see the corresponding actions on Russian territory.”
Residents of southern Crimea also observed a Russian Ka-27 helicopter near the village of Foros, typically used for search and rescue operations.
The Cesar Kunikov had previously been attacked in Berdyansk at the end of March 2022. . .
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Crimea Warship Sunk by Drone 'Wolfpack'
Kyiv's latest strike on Russia's naval forces in the Black Sea was inspired by World War II submarine tactics, one Ukrainian military expert has said, as the Kremlin counts the cost of yet surprise maritime attack.
Ivan Stupak, a former officer in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and now an adviser to the Ukrainian parliament's national security, defense and intelligence committee, told Newsweek on Wednesday that the overnight sinking of the Ropucha-class Caesar Kunikov landing ship took lessons from history.
"The 'Wolfpack'—Wolfsrudeltaktik in German—was a tactic of the Second World War in the Atlantic Ocean, using a numerical advantage to launch a massive attack by submarines on an enemy ship," Stupak explained.
"The 'Wolfpack'—Wolfsrudeltaktik in German—was a tactic of the Second World War in the Atlantic Ocean, using a numerical advantage to launch a massive attack by submarines on an enemy ship," Stupak explained.
- "With the end of the Second World War, the use of 'wolfpack' tactics ceased.
- Russia's full-scale invasion of 2022 provoked the emergence of a new Ukrainian tactic: 'swarm of drones.'"
November 15, 2023 7:19 PM • Updated:
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