The Chief of Staff of the President of Ukraine, Kirill Budanov, has stated that the Kremlin is continuing its attempts to kill him – even now that he is conducting peace talks with Russia, writes The Times, quoted by Focus.
Budanov gave his first interview to British media after his appointment to his new position. He went to meeting with a gun in his holster.
Despite the increased security measures in the President's Office, the threat to his life has not disappeared. According to the general, at least ten assassination attempts have already been made against him.
"I must not trust anyone, I must achieve a result", he points out.
The fact that the Kremlin continues to persecute him even during the negotiations, Budanov described as "absolutely normal".
Most of the assassination attempts were not publicized. But some became known.
2019. The bomb under Budanov's car exploded prematurely - it tore off the hand of the agent who planted it. Budanov, according to the media, pursued the second attacker with a gun, but he managed to escape.
2023. The general's wife, Mariana Budanova, and several intelligence officers were poisoned with heavy metals. Kiev considers this a Russian operation against Budanov's inner circle.
2024 The SBU has uncovered a plan to attack the general's convoy with ballistic missiles. The plot involved two colonels from the State Security Service who were secretly working for Moscow. The third participant was supposed to destroy the survivors with the help of an FPV drone. All three were detained.
Upon his appointment to the new post, Budanov promised to combat "excesses" in mobilization and to change the approach to the work of the Ukrainian President's Office.