Budanov to Ukrainians: stop taking Moscow's bait

The head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's Ministry of Defense (GUR), Kyrylo Budanov, has called on Ukrainians not to engage in emotional manipulation, which the Russian Federation resorts to as part of systemic information wars to destroy Ukrainian unity from within, GUR reports.

"Russia continues its targeted information aggression against Ukraine, trying to manipulate the emotions of Ukrainian society to destroy national unity, but these attempts will not succeed," Budanov said.

The head of the GUR noted that the Russian Federation systematically conducts special information wars against Ukraine, which are aimed at manipulating the emotions of Ukrainian society. According to the Russians, they should lead to the destruction of the state from within. "But I am sure that they will not be able to do this," he stressed.

Budanov called on Ukrainians to be conscious consumers of information, not to spread rumors and not to succumb to emotions.

"We need to understand: sometimes an excessive desire to learn about the course of hostilities, the nomenclature and quantity of weapons supplies becomes the cause of the death of our defenders," he says.

The head of military intelligence drew attention to the risks of spreading unverified information, in particular from foreign sources.

"We need to be more careful with the information that is broadcast in the media of different countries of the world. All countries have their own absolutely personal state goals. We must respect this and treat it normally," Budanov emphasized.

He also mentioned a number of successful special operations that became examples of the professionalism of Ukrainian intelligence officers.

In particular, he noted the "Sinitsa" operation, during which it was possible to overtake a Russian Mi-8 helicopter with its crew to territory controlled by Ukraine; operations to ensure the defense of Mariupol and the naval operations of the GUR, which ensured Ukraine's dominance in the northwestern part of the Black Sea.

Budanov also recalled that the Ukrainian Defense Forces are constantly inflicting fire damage on strategically important objects on the territory of the Russian Federation.

"Every day something thunders somewhere, and this will continue until we end this war. And Russia must take this seriously," he said.