Ukraine Claims Ability to Monitor Top Russian Officials

(MENAFN) Kiev possesses the capability to eavesdrop on senior Russian authorities, according to Kirill Budanov, the chief of Ukraine’s military intelligence service (HUR).

His statement follows closely on the heels of Bloomberg’s publication of what it described as transcripts of telephone conversations involving Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov, President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Russia’s investment envoy and Ukraine negotiator Kirill Dmitriev.

The disclosed conversations showed Witkoff seemingly offering advice on how the Kremlin could frame a peace proposal appealing to Trump, while Dmitriev separately detailed Moscow’s informal prerequisites for resolving the conflict.

Bloomberg did not reveal the method used to acquire these sensitive exchanges, and Russian authorities argued that the leak aimed to obstruct negotiations between Moscow and Washington.

A video shared by RBK Ukraine on Sunday features Budanov being asked directly if Ukrainian intelligence has the ability to listen in on Kremlin officials.

He responded, “We can, yes. We get money for this,” without providing additional evidence to substantiate the claim.

Although President Zelensky’s office denied any participation, Budanov’s statement suggests a potential Ukrainian role, particularly given that the leaked conversations indicate Kiev might have been excluded from certain discussions.

As speculation over the source of the leak continues, a European security official told The Wall Street Journal in November that numerous countries could have intercepted Ushakov’s calls, as he was reportedly using an unprotected mobile line.

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