Turning point in war by mid-August, cessation by the end of 2022 — Ukrainian intel chief

Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Main Intelligence Directorate under the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, believes that the war with Russia will reach a turning point by mid-August and by the end of 2022 the hostilities would terminate.

He said this in an interview with Sky News, according to the intelligence press service.

Budanov also stated that a coup was underway in Russia to remove incumbent President Vladimir Putin, and that the Russian leader was seriously ill with cancer.

"Most of the active hostilities will be terminated by the end of this year. As a result, we will restore Ukrainian power in all our lost territories, including Donbas and Crimea,"  Budanov assured.

According to him, Russia is suffering huge losses in the war, and Ukraine's military intelligence is learning about the Kremlin's plans as soon as they begin to take shape.

"We have been at war with Russia for eight years, and we can say that this hyped-up Russian power is a myth. This is an horde of people with weapons," the head of Ukraine's military intelligence concluded.

The situation at the front

In eastern Ukraine, the Russians are shelling along the entire line of contact and in the depths of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' defenses. The greatest activity of the occupiers was observed on the Slobozhansky and Donetsk axes. The threat of missile and bomb strikes on military and civilian facilities in Ukraine remains.

The occupiers did not engage in active hostilities on the Kharkiv axis. The main efforts were focused on withdrawing troops from Kharkiv, maintaining occupied positions and supply routes.

On the Sloviansk axis, the Russians carried out artillery shelling of civilian and military infrastructure near the settlements of Dovhenke, Dolyna and Husarivka. The occupiers conducted air reconnaissance using the Orlan-10 drone near Izyum, Kapitolivka and Dibrova in the Kharkiv region.