Budanov says Baltic states may fall under Russian occupation

Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (HUR) Kyrylo Budanov said that Russia's plans to attack Europe have been moved to an earlier date, and the Baltic states may come under occupation. The lieutenant general said this in an interview with LB.ua media.

"According to the main plan, Russia had to be ready to start actions in 2030. Now the plans have been adjusted, revised to shorten the timeframe for 2027," Budanov said, confirming that it is a possible occupation of the Baltic countries (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia – Ed.).

When asked why Moscow would want to do this, the HUR chief said that the answer lies in "the plane of deep historical and psychological traumas" and the worldview of Russians.

"These are phantom pains, as I call them. From their [Russian] point of view, everything is absolutely right. The way they see the world is north-south, west-east. In order for an empire – and they see themselves as an empire – to develop, you always have to move somewhere to expand your influence and territory. This, by the way, is the answer to many questions," the military leader explained.

In this context, he noted that for Russia's expansion, America "is not an option, because it will be painful," and attacking China "will be catastrophic – the land border, the same conditions as we have in the war with Russia, only for them [Russians]."

"The only thing left is the West, which in their [Russian] understanding is, pardon the phraseology, 'greedy,' 'sick,' 'weak,' and 'indecisive,'" Budanov explained.

He also said that according to the plans known to the intelligence service, the Russians are considering Poland only for strikes: "For a military campaign without capture."

• In November, Germany's defense minister said that his country had always believed that Russia could sufficiently rebuild its forces to attack an eastern NATO member state from 2029, but now there are estimates that this can happen even earlier.