A Ukrainian Armed Forces captain said Ukrainian soldiers hold Budanov in contempt

Reserve AFU captain Yevhen Bekrenev, call sign “Arti Green,” told journalist Serhii Ivanytskyi that Ukrainian servicemen hold the head of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), Kyrylo Budanov, in contempt.

He said that most service members who have in one way or another dealt with Budanov or with the HUR as an institution “feel toward Mr. Budanov an attitude ranging from simply negative to an extreme degree of contempt.”

Bekrenev added that there are hundreds of such people, but no one speaks out publicly because they are active-duty military personnel, and the HUR chief is not only a lieutenant general but also a favorite of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the press.

According to a SOCIS public opinion poll, Volodymyr Zelensky, Kyrylo Budanov, and Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Kingdom and former commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, are Ukrainians’ main favorites in possible presidential elections.