Russia's Vladimir Putin will not "survive" the war in Ukraine, according to Ukraine's intelligence chief.
"It's unlikely that he survives it," Ukrainian Maj. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov told The War Zone, an online military magazine, in an exclusive Q&A.
"And currently, there's active discussions happening in Russia about who'd be there to replace him."
Budanov declined to mention who his intelligence reports suggest might replace Putin in Russia, but he did note once Russia loses its war in Ukraine an overthrow of the Russia Federation leadership will come "fast."
"Not now, but as soon as Russia suffers defeat, this will happen really fast," Budanov said. "Then the Russian Federation will change its form."
Regardless who takes over, even if a shared enemy to Putin, that individual will not be trustworthy by Ukraine leadership, according to Budanov.
"I don't believe Russians at all," he said. "I don't believe that there's any good person behind him but whoever comes to power will surely blame Putin for all the bad that was done."
Budanov noted a big battle for Kherson City on the Black Sea, the gateway to the Crimean peninsula that Putin annexed in 2014, looms and could ultimately lead to victory.
"The most trained and most capable Russian units are currently in Kherson," Budanov said. "A large share of them are from airborne troops of the Russian Federation, Russian special operation forces and the naval infantry, so the most capable units that Russia has. Those units form the backbone of the grouping and [they] are being strengthened by the mobilized personnel also."
Addressing the allegations of a "dirty bomb" attack using nuclear waste, Budanov said that is a figment of the Russian "terrorist state."
"Ukraine has never in its history produced such devices," he said. "It has never planned, it's not planning and it's not going to plan to do anything like that. Unlike the Russian Federation, who is, as I said before, a terrorist state and they're likely to do anything."
© 2023 Newsmax. All rights reserved.