Ukraine never to allow war freeze - intel chief

Ukraine will never agree to a "frozen" conflict with Russia, recognizing the occupation of its territories.

This was stated by the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, Kyrylo Budanov, who spoke in an interview with the Canadian public broadcaster CBC News.

"The Russians would be very happy to freeze everything how it is now," Ukrainian military intelligence chief Lt.-Gen. Kyrylo Budanov said recently when asked for some insight into current Russian thinking. 

He also admitted that Russia somehow gained access to Ukraine's classified plans for a future counteroffensive.

"I'm not going to say more than the president," Budanov said when asked about the intelligence leak.  "We had, let's say, information, evidence, that the plans became known to the Russian federation. It is a serious problem, and we are taking some action." 

The head of the intelligence agency also expressed the opinion that drones, no matter how effective they are, cannot completely replace people on the battlefield.

"Drones will never replace ground troops," he said. "It is only a way to support them. With the help of a drone you can inflict losses on the enemy. But until, like in medieval times, a soldier comes and plants a flag, nothing will change."

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, said that the military command has a clear plan for waging war for 2024, but is preparing several other options due to leaks.