Budanov also spoke about the situation at Kakhovskaya HPP and named possible scenarios for the development of events.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine can remove Kherson from the invaders until the end of 2022. This was said by the head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense Kirill Budanov in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda.
According to him, the Russians are actually “leaving” Promsvyazbank and other financial structures from Kherson, which they themselves brought there.
At the same time, in many respects, a more informative operation and manipulation is performed. So, the invaders took money, servers, the so-called work authorities, moved all the non-walking and seriously injured, try to evacuate those who could walk from the hospitals as soon as possible.
“That is, they create the illusion that everything is lost. And at the same time, on the contrary, they bring new military units there and prepare the streets of the city for defense,” said Budanov.
He noted that the Russians understand that if the Armed Forces of Ukraine take at least control of the Kakhovka dam, which is now the only fully functional transport artery, they will have to make quick decisions: either leave the city very quickly and get out. , or they risk ending up in the situation in which the Ukrainian defenders in Mariupol found themselves earlier.
“And now, understanding all this, they are preparing the ground so that, if necessary, they can get out of there very quickly. However, they are not preparing to leave now, they are preparing for defense,” the head of the GUR said.
Budanov confirmed that the dam was partially mined.
“There are just other aspects. First: why do it – what will they lose and what will they gain? And second: you can blow up the dam partially, or you can blow it up completely. So, to blow it up completely, such work is not carried out. Mining is carried out partially for partial destruction if necessary,” he said.
According to Budanov, to destroy a structure of this level, tens of tons of properly placed explosives are needed.
As the head of GUR said, if the dam is completely destroyed, the left bank of the Kherson region will be completely flooded. The Russians will lose even in theory the possibility of supplying water to the North Crimean Canal, Crimea.
They will also destroy the possibility of the existence of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, because this facility is inevitably associated with it. The invaders will also complicate the advance of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for a certain period of time – about two weeks. At the same time, the military of the Russian Federation itself will be forced to retreat directly to Crimea.
In case of partial damage of the dam, the enemy will disable part of the lock, engine rooms and make the dam unusable for its purpose. At the same time, the North Crimean Canal will be preserved, and there will be a slight spill of water. The advancement of the Armed Forces will also be more difficult.
Earlier, GUR reported that the Russian Federation planned to decommission the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station in the spring.
Budanov believes that the war in the Russian Federation should end in the summer of next year, and after that Russia will face significant changes.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.