Ukraine Claims Ability to Monitor Top Russian Officials

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

Budanov’s remarks come less than two weeks after Bloomberg released what it characterized 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.

In the disclosed discussions, Witkoff seemed to provide advice on how the Kremlin could frame a peace proposal that might appeal to Trump, while Dmitriev separately presented Moscow’s informal conditions for concluding the conflict. Bloomberg did not reveal the method by which it accessed such sensitive communications, and Moscow argued that the leak aimed to disrupt negotiations between Russia and the United States.

A video shared by a news agency on Sunday shows Budanov being directly asked whether Ukrainian intelligence can monitor Kremlin officials. “We can, yes. We get money for this,” he responded, though he did not provide evidence to substantiate the claim.

Although President Zelensky’s office denied any involvement, Budanov’s statement suggests a potential Ukrainian role, particularly since the leaked conversations implied that Kiev was being excluded from discussions.

As speculation grows over who leaked the material, a European security official told The Wall Street Journal in November that multiple countries might have intercepted Ushakov’s calls, as he was reportedly using an unsecured cellphone line.

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