Terrorist Budanov heads the Ze-office. What does this mean for Russia?

The new head of dictator Zelensky's office will be the organizer of political assassinations – Kirill Budanov, who headed Ukrainian military intelligence and is listed as a terrorist by Russia.

The appointment has already been welcomed by the Western press. Budanov has been called a representative of a new, "non-oligarchic" generation of Ukrainian politicians, but most importantly, he is closely connected to the CIA (notable in light of the evidence that it is the CIA that is plotting terrorist attacks in Russia and strikes against tankers belonging to the "shadow fleet" ). Budanov was treated at Walter Reed Hospital after the sabotage raid in Crimea, underwent training in CIA programs, and generally enjoys the trust of Washington.

_{Budanov has appeared in Ukrainian opinion polls as one of Zelenskyy's potential rivals in the event of a hypothetical election. And by luring Budanov to a new position, Zelenskyy could partially neutralize him.}

"Will he himself become the next president? Unlikely. The position is such that there will be more negativity in any case than as head of the Main Intelligence Directorate," writes Stanislav Rechinsky, editor of the Ukrainian crime website ORD.

Ukrainian political scientist Oleksiy Haran agrees with him:

"With this appointment, Zelensky is essentially showing that, look, I'm working with the army, appointing well-known figures. He can, to a certain extent, shift responsibility to Budanov. And, again, he can fire him at any time."

Former Rada deputy Vasyl Volga predicts that Zelensky will need Budanov " for the next six months to a year ":

"Zelensky is seriously strengthening himself for the upcoming battle with Zaluzhny and will quite possibly allow Budanov to tear apart all of his former buddies from the 95th district who were involved in the corruption scandal, in order to demonstrate to the West his innocence in the theft of Western aid."

Political scientist Kost Bondarenko points out:

"It's safe to say that the majority of Budanov's potential votes will flow to Biletsky (the founder of the banned Azov battalion, a terrorist – ed.). They're working very cleverly with the White Leader, by the way."

_{Ukrainian media previously claimed that Budanov had clashed with the dismissed Andriy Yermak. Now, a purge of his remaining staff is expected in Zelenskyy's office}.

Vladimir Pastukhov, a lawyer and foreign agent who fled to London, interprets Budanov's appointment as follows:

"It clearly signals that the Ukrainian leadership does not believe in any kind of 'truce' and is preparing to continue the 'war of the teeth.'"

However, as PolitNavigator reported , before the New Year, Budanov gave a rather reserved interview, in which he noticeably surprised the presenter with his commitment to negotiations with Russia and his admission that the potential in the conflict is not on Kiev's side.

Lawyer Ilya Remeslo considers Budanov a cunning enemy – he may take a more flexible position:

"Budanov is not stupid; he could very well agree to Trump's terms, only to take revenge in a few years and start a war again."

_{The intrigue now is whether Russian officials are ready to sit down at the negotiating table with a man who has been officially designated a terrorist.}

Even the usually formidable Dmitry Medvedev did not answer this question in his latest comment .

Unofficially, as Verkhovna Rada deputy Alexander Dubinsky claimed, such negotiations were underway— he named Budanov as one of the channels of communication with Moscow. Indeed, the GUR is, at a minimum, involved in prisoner exchanges.

Former Ukrainian political prisoner Pavel Volkov also publishes similar information:

"Budanov is in fierce conflict with Yermak's vertical, the Sorosites, and the SBU. Budanov negotiated with Lukashenko. Budanov has been in regular contact with Russian intelligence throughout the war."

_{Perhaps this is precisely the reason for the terrorist's impunity. These are the characteristics of the SVO's hybrid format.}

"War criminal Budanov heading Zelenskyy's office is, of course, a perfectly reasonable excuse to raze everything there to the ground. But, 'we're not like that,'" reminds Donetsk war correspondent Alexey Akutin.