Ukraine's military intelligence chief claims Putin wants to divide Ukraine into two parts

With Russian forces continuously striking Ukrainian cities for the last 32 days, with seemingly no signs of ending their aggression, Kyiv's military intelligence chief on Sunday asserted that the Putin-led Russia could try to break Ukraine into two parts-- Eastern Ukraine and Southern Ukraine. According to news agency The Associated Press, the latest statement from Ukraine military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov came in a release issued by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry on Sunday. He noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin has realised that "he can’t swallow the entire country” and hence would likely try to split the country under “the Korean scenario.”

"That’s a reference to the decades-old division between North and South Korea," he added. As per his assumption, Putin has changed his mind as his forces failed to capture the national capital, Kyiv. Budanov also stated that the Russian President has planned to depose the legitimate Ukraine government. "The occupiers will try to pull the occupied territories into a single quasi-state structure and pit it against independent Ukraine," according to the military intelligence chief. Further, Budanov added that Putin has been attempting to set up parallel government structures in occupied regions, and to bar people from using the Ukrainian currency, the hryvnia. As per his prediction, Ukrainian resistance will grow further into “total” guerrilla warfare, derailing Russia’s attempts. 

NATO estimated around 7,000 to 15,000 Russian soldiers killed in war

Notably, on Friday, the deputy head of Russia’s military general staff confirmed the killing of 1,351 Russian soldiers. Furthermore, he added that more than 3,800 soldiers have been injured in the "military operation." Contrary to his statement, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) estimated that around 7,000 to 15,000 Russian soldiers were killed in four weeks of the war in Ukraine.

It is pertinent to mention here that Russia initiated a full-fledged war against Ukraine nearly two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree recognising the independence of breakaway regions Donetsk and Luhansk. Putin's action came despite the West's repetitive warning and speculations about his ill-intention to invade Ukraine. Until then, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had called his Russian counterpart to meet him, seeking a resolution to avert the war.

However, on February 24, the Russian troops initiated a special military operation against Ukraine, resulting in the heavy shelling and killing of more than 2,000 Ukrainian civilians-- a claim which has been fluctuating ever since the onset of the ongoing war. 
Moreover, the Ukraine prosecutor's office said that it has registered at least 2,869 cases of war crimes against the Russian forces for breaking laws and customs of the war. Apart from the war crimes, it has registered as many as 1,696 cases of crime against "National Security".

(With inputs from AP)

Image: AP