Anton Hein

BUDANOV SAYS UKRAINE IS DESTROYING SOMETHING PUTIN CANNOT REBUILD: RUSSIA’S REPUTATION 🇺🇦🇷🇺 Kyrylo Budanov believes Ukraine’s campaign against Russia is inflicting damage far beyond destroyed infrastructure and financial losses. It is dismantling the image of a military superpower that Moscow spent decades cultivating. “Russia is suffering a reputational blow. That is the most important thing. Oil prices may somehow stabilize, the war will end — things will normalize. But the reputational damage will last for a very long time.” For years, the Kremlin relied on the perception that Russian military power was overwhelming and that its territory was effectively beyond the reach of its adversaries. Ukraine has challenged both assumptions. Russian forces have failed to achieve a decisive victory, while Ukrainian drones have demonstrated that even strategically important facilities deep inside Russia are vulnerable. Oil infrastructure can be repaired. Markets can recover. Military equipment can eventually be replaced. But restoring the credibility of a military power whose weaknesses have been exposed is a different challenge altogether. Budanov’s final words leave little doubt about Ukraine’s determination to continue applying pressure. “We are not stopping.” For Budanov, the lasting consequence of Russia’s invasion may be the damage Moscow has inflicted on its own image of invincibility.