Ukraine intel chief: Putin and his regime became victims of their own propaganda

He said this in an interview with The Washington Post, Ukrinform reports, citing the press service of the Ukrainian military intelligence agency.

"They overheated their society […] saying that they're the most mighty and all-powerful in the world, and he [Putin] started believing that himself. But it turned out their military is not as powerful as they thought," he said.

Putin made a "strategic mistake" in launching the war, Budanov said.

"But Russians recover fast, and that's a fact that you should keep in mind. They have proved that dozens of times. We should not underestimate this characteristic," he said.

He added that the Russian-Ukrainian war would be ongoing while the Putin regime remains in power.

"Under the next regime, it might change or not, but there will be a window of opportunity," Budanov said.