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20. BUCHA, UKRAINE - APRIL 23: (EDITORS NOTE: Image contains graphic content) Ukrainian morticians look at body bags full of corpses, as a morgue overflows with victims who died during the Russian military presence in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, Ukraine, on April 23, 2022. Ukrainian officials and volunteers are beginning the work of identifying the dead and gathering evidence for war crimes accusations, and say that more than 1,000 civilians lost their lives when Russian troops occupied districts northwest of the capital for weeks after a February 24 invasion. Photo by Scott Peterson/Getty Images

KEY POINTS

  • Kyrylo Budanov said he saw hundreds of rotting dead bodies in an open field in Bakhmut, Ukraine
  • Ukraine's military intelligence head said he expects that strikes would come "deeper and deeper" inside of Russia
  • Budanov revealed that Ukraine is preparing to launch a major counteroffensive in the spring "from Crimea to Donbas"

Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine's chief of military intelligence, revealed that Ukrainian forces discovered hundreds of dead bodies piled up like "in a movie," as the war launched by Russia drags on to the new year.

In his interview with ABC News, Budanov said he was shocked when Ukrainian soldiers showed him rotting dead bodies during his visit to the beleaguered Ukrainian city of Bakhmut in Donetsk, the hottest point of the 800-mile front line, in late December.

"Soldiers showed me a section where dead bodies are piled up like something you would see in a movie," Budanov said.

"There are hundreds of dead bodies just rotting away in the open field, in places they are piled on top of other bodies like makeshift walls, when Russian troops attack on that field they use those bodies for cover, like a shield," he continued. "But it's not working. There are actual fields of dead bodies there."

Budanov also reacted to the news of attacks inside Russia, specifically on the Engels Air Force Base, saying he was "glad to see it."

The head of Ukraine's military intelligence said he expects that strikes would come "deeper and deeper" inside of Russian territory, but he would only provide answers on Ukraine's responsibility for the attacks when the war is over.

When asked if the Ukrainian forces could carry out strikes against the Russian-annexed region of Crimea, Budanov argued that Crimea is part of Ukraine and they can "use any weapon on our territory."

Budanov added that Ukraine is planning a major counteroffensive in the spring, saying that it would happen throughout the country, "from Crimea to the Donbas."

Budanov's comments came after Kyiv claimed responsibility for one of the deadliest attacks against Russia.

On New Year's Day, the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched a missile strike on a makeshift Russian base inside the occupied region of Donetsk, killing at least 400 Russian troops.

The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the deadly attack on its troops, claiming that Ukraine carried out missile strikes using the U.S.-made HIMARS system. But contrary to the death toll provided by Kyiv, Moscow said the strike only killed 63 of its soldiers.

Last month, satellite images showed that the Engels Russian base suffered damage following a suspected Ukrainian drone strike.

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Several Russian Tu-95 strategic bomber jets caught fire after the strike, and authorities deployed fire trucks to the scene.

Russian emergency services said three military personnel were killed and five were wounded due to a suspected Ukrainian strike.

A grave where two men have been buried, who according to residents were shot dead in the eye by Russian soldiers, is seen at the garden of a building, amid Russia's invasion on Ukraine, in Bucha, Ukraine April 3, 2022.
A grave where two men have been buried, who according to residents were shot dead in the eye by Russian soldiers, is seen at the garden of a building, amid Russia's invasion on Ukraine, in Bucha, Ukraine April 3, 2022. Reuters / ZOHRA BENSEMRA
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