Quotes
I am pleased. This is a good indicator of our work, and I promise to work even better.”
His defiant reaction was
You want me to deliver a message via the British audience? In the minds of Russians, Great Britain is already their biggest adversary. Maybe [your country is] not the best delivery system for that message!”
He laughs
Churchill once said that Britain’s security relied on its army and navy. Ukraine must find its own guarantees”.
Then in a reference to Sir Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Britain during World War Two and whom he hugely admires, the General saysPlease keep standing with Ukraine, as this is the time when we may need your support the most. Stand by the values that both our nations hold, values worth making sacrifices for.”
His message to Britain is a simple oneIt was a brutal attempt [on her life]. My wife has had a long recovery and several complications following that, even recently. But God was with us and we will be all right.”
In an exclusive interview at a secret location they call “The Island” in Ukrainian capital Kyiv, General Budanov tells meNegotiations continue, and by definition they must include both sides of the conflict,
the General continuesTheir military production peaked last year,
he reveal ... revealsBoth Ukraine and Russia have by now exhausted all the Soviet-era stockpiles we had,
he addsIt is safe to say that North Korea supplies about half of Russia’s total arsenal today
he statesThey are already feeling the burden of it. The country spending over 40% of their budget on military expenditure cannot sustain its functioning. By summer, the situation will reach its peak,
he saidThat question is best addressed to the Armed Forces
he saysI am a military guy. This is my natural habitat,
he saysIn terms of drone technology, both in quality and quantity, we are ahead,
he saidThe situation on the Ukrainian battlefield is difficult but under control,
he saidThere has never been an example in history where this has worked,
he saysThey put a cannon right behind our house and it fired day and night ... They moved the gun one way to fire at Hostomel, moved it a bit to fire at Bucha and Irpin, moved it another way to aim at the pumping station by the Kyiv sea,
Honchar says
As it turned out, everything started kicking off just a few kilometres from my house in Vorzel, with a big attack on Hostomel airport,
says the head of Aerorozvidka, Yaroslav HoncharOne of my sons rang at about 3am and said Russia was invading. He told me to turn the boilers down, leave work and go home immediately. But I couldn’t believe it. And my shift wasn’t due to end until eight o’clock, so I stayed,
she recallsWe became a space where anyone who wanted to defend could join in,
says Honchar, who is now chief executive of an expanded Aerorozvidka that works closely with the armed forces as a registered non-governmental organisationWe could give a task to anyone with a drone in Kyiv. And we had people collecting and disseminating all the data coming in about where the Russians were, using photographs and maps. People with hobby drones didn’t wait for orders, they just went flying and found the enemy and sent us the images,
he adds