Ukraine’s defense‑intelligence head Kyrylo Budanov told a panel of Ukrainian ambassadors that Russia intends to spend about $1.1 trillion on rearmament by 2036, calling it the Kremlin’s largest weapons program since the Soviet Union collapsed.
Speaking at the ambassadors’ annual meeting — titled “Intelligence, Security, Diplomacy: A Common Strategy for Victory” — Budanov said politics, the economy and society inside Russia are being “fully mobilized” for a potential large‑scale conflict.
He noted that Moscow has already recreated two military districts and plans new divisions, formations and units as part of its defense reform.
Budanov argued the build‑up underpins a wider push to “destroy the current security and economic order”. Russia, he said, is widening its footprint in Africa through proxy groups such as the Wagner private military company and the so‑called Afrika Korps while backing authoritarian regimes and armed organizations worldwide.
At the same time, Moscow is conducting hybrid information and cyber operations abroad. Through state‑controlled media and sympathetic opinion leaders, it seeks to interfere in democratic processes, the intelligence chief added.
“Russia wants a world where large states — first and foremost itself — hold a monopoly on critical resources and decide global affairs behind closed doors,” Budanov said.
He closed by thanking Ukraine’s diplomatic corps for rallying international backing for Kyiv and for working with intelligence officers to evacuate Ukrainian citizens from danger zones.
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Source: RBC, Interfax Ukraine