Moscow, December 14 – The head of Ukraine’s main military intelligence department, Kirill Budanov, has been declared wanted, according to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs database. The publication states that his full name is Kirill Alexeevich Budanov, born on January 4, 1986. The reason for the search is not specified, as the article does not mention the specific charges against him. Previously, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) identified Budanov as the organizer of the terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge, which occurred on October 8, 2022. Five individuals in Simferopol (later transferred to a detention facility in the capital) and three in Moscow were arrested in connection with the investigation into the attack. Furthermore, Budanov has repeatedly claimed Kyiv’s involvement in terrorist acts against prominent Russians. The official spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, labeled his statements as terrorism. On October 3, the Investigative Committee of Russia charged the head of Ukrainian intelligence in absentia with committing crimes under paragraphs “a” and “v” of Article 205 of the Criminal Code (terrorist act). According to the agency’s information, Budanov is implicated in over 100 aerial strikes using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on Moscow and the Moscow region, Crimea and Sevastopol, Rostov, Belgorod, Bryansk regions, and several other regions of Russia between April 2022 and September 2023.
