Ukrainian strikes have hurt Russia's economy more than sanctions – Ukraine's Intelligence chief

Kyrylo Budanov, Head of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), believes that Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries have caused greater damage to Russia's economy than any international sanctions.

Source: Budanov at the Kyiv International Economic Forum on 16 October, as reported by Suspilne, a Ukrainian public broadcaster

Quote: "In fact, our strikes have had a greater impact than the sanctions. That's just a mathematical truth. We have inflicted far more direct damage to the Russian Federation's profits than any economic measures imposed so far."

Details: Budanov emphasised that a significant share of the strikes on Russian refineries have been carried out using domestically produced munitions. "We are working mostly with our own resources – 99% of them are ours. We now have our own production. Of course, we always want more, but it exists. It's our domestic production that has allowed us to use our personnel and assets in the way we see fit. And ultimately, it delivers results," he said.

He added that the current sanctions pressure on Russia remains insufficient. "That's also an unpleasant truth because it leads us to the conclusion that it's clearly not enough. I mean the sanctions pressure – it's insufficient. And if things continue as they are, it won't have enough impact to change the world view of the Russian Federation," Budanov noted.

He also stated that Russia still has enough "resilience" to continue the war for "quite a long time," adding that its current economic difficulties have not yet reached a critical level.

At the same time, the intelligence chief pointed out that "no prolonged war has ever benefited any country's economy", so the idea that Russia is finding it increasingly difficult "is, in principle, inherently correct".

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