Media: GUR And Zaluzhny Secretly Tried To Prepare For Russian Federation Invasion

Kiev did not believe that Russia would start a war.

Even before the threat of a full-scale invasion was officially recognized, Ukraine began covert preparations for defense. The Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) and the then commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces, Valeriy Zaluzhny, were secretly developing plans to defend the country, while President Vladimir Zelensky did not fully believe the attack was real.

The intelligence and military operated under the cover of regular "exercises," securing strategic positions and preparing the country for a possible war. This is reported by The Guardian, based on more than 100 interviews with intelligence and military officials from various countries.

According to the investigation, talks between Zelensky and former US President Joe Biden were sometimes tense: Biden explicitly warned of a Russian offensive on Kiev, but the Ukrainian leadership did not always take these signals seriously. At the same time, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan emphasized that Ukrainian intelligence services and military were convinced of the inevitability of an invasion from the very beginning.

GUR began quietly planning contingency scenarios as early as January 2022. Intelligence agents rented safe houses around Kiev and stockpiled large sums of cash, disguising the preparations as regular "exercises." The "exercises" continued in mid-February, as any major troop movements without official authorization remained illegal.

Disappointed by Zelensky's refusal to impose martial law, Zaluzhny and senior military leaders did limited planning on their own. On the eve of the invasion, mines were laid on the bottom of the Black Sea to prevent a naval landing, and units moved to strategically important positions. One general noted, "It was forbidden, but we had no choice."

The GUR continued to collect data even on the day before the attack. On February 18, Kirill Budanov received a three-hour briefing from a Western official on Russia's plans for the airfield at Gostomel. This information helped develop last-minute defense measures. Also on the eve of the invasion, Budanov received information from Ukrainian banker Denis Kireyev from contacts in the Russian elite about the timing and direction of the attack, which allowed him to prepare for a first strike.

As The Guardian notes, it was this covert preparation that was key to containing the offensive and organizing Ukraine's defenses in the early days of the war, despite the constraints imposed by the official leadership.

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