Russia's Missile Supply 'Almost To Zero', Cannot Attempt Another 'Serious Offensive' In Ukraine: Intel Chief

The Russian army is now struggling with a nearly depleted supply of missiles to use in its war in Ukraine, a Ukrainian intelligence official said.

Maj. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, the chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, made the suggestion during an interview with Yahoo! News published Friday.

"They are trying to accumulate certain stocks and have them ready in order to try to disrupt our offensive, but the truth is that they have taken their stocks almost to zero," he said.

Budanov also said Russia is currently unable to mount another offensive in Ukraine due to "military, economic or political" factors. However, he noted that Moscow's troops are still capable of defending themselves amid the shortage of missiles.

"As of today, Russia has no military, economic or political potential to create another attempt for a serious offensive anywhere in Ukraine," the intelligence chief added.

"Besides that, it is completely capable of waging serious defensive operations, and this is the very problem we are about to face."

The outlet's interview with Budanov took place on Apr. 24, over a week before two drones allegedly attacked Russian President Vladimir Putin's residence at the Kremlin. Moscow has blamed both Ukraine and the United States for the attack and claimed it was an assassination attempt on the Russian leader. Both Kyiv and Washington denied ordering the strike.

Ukraine is currently on the brink of launching its much-anticipated spring counteroffensive against Russia, which it had been preparing for over the past months. However, little is known about the said counteroffensive, except that Kyiv is nearly ready to hit Russian troops.

Military experts believe Ukraine will focus the bulk of its offensive on the southeast, particularly in the Zaporizhzhia region, which fell under Russian control in March 2022. Losing the region would deal significant damage to Moscow as it gives Ukraine access to Crimea, a peninsula Russia illegally annexed in 2014.

In anticipation of the counteroffensive, Russia has begun evacuating hundreds of civilians in 18 temporarily occupied settlements near the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Local Russian passport holders are being evacuated to the port city of Berdyansk and the town of Prymorsk, per Reuters.