Budanov: Russia likely to run out of ‘military tools’ by end of spring

Russia has “wasted huge amounts of human resources, armaments, and materials” during the war in Ukraine, and it will likely run out of offensive potential by late spring, Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview with USA Today published on March 5.

Budanov predicted that neither the economy nor domestic military industrial complex will be able to help Russia, and it will lack resources to wage war against Ukraine if it “fails in its aims this spring.”

The intelligence chief did not elaborate further on Moscow's specific war airms in the coming weeks.

Budanov said “a decisive battle” is set to take place this spring, and predicted that “this battle will be the final one before this war ends,” USA Today reported.

Russia intensified its offensive operations in late January, when it began to launch large scale attacks against Ukrainian lines in Donbas, focusing on the sectors near Vuhledar in the south of Donetsk Oblast and Lyman in the north.

Only around Bakhmut have Russian forces made meaningful advances since the new year, those being carried out mostly by the Wagner paramilitary organization's troops, and with very high reported casualties.

ISW: Russian forces unlikely to encircle Bakhmut soon

The Kyiv Independent