Ukraine's Spy Chief Laughs Off Reports of His Death As 'Russian Propaganda'

Major General Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine's Military Intelligence Directorate, appeared to ridicule Moscow's claims about his fate, after Russian state media reported that he was "airlifted" to a German hospital and either dead or "in a coma."

The report was the latest claim about senior military casualties to emerge in the 16-month-long war, with Russia previously claiming, falsely, to have killed the head of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Valeriy Zaluzhny.

Similarly false reports by Ukrainian officials and channels have variously proclaimed hits on Russian top brass, including General Valery Gerasimov and Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Newsweek Misinformation Watch looked into how the latest narrative emerged and developed, assessing the credibility of the claims from both sides.

From May 29, 2023, onwards, a number of Russian state media outlets and "milbloggers" claimed that Budanov, one of the most senior figures in Ukraine's military, often dubbed "Putin's Number 1 Enemy," was either wounded or "liquidated" in a strike on the Main Directorate of Intelligence headquarters in Kyiv.

Several posts on pro-Russian Telegram channels also referenced unnamed "Ukrainian media" reporting the death of Budanov, including purported plans to hold a state funeral for the intel chief.

"Ukrainian media are burying Budanov. ... The farewell will take place in the near future. The workers said that Kyrylo Budanov, who died after the recent missile attack on the GUR, will be buried," wrote Ruslan Ostashko, a Russian state TV journalist, in his Telegram channel.

One media outlet directly cited was the Ukrainian news website Telegraf, seen in what appeared to be a screenshot of an article about Budanov. However, Telegraf published a debunk on June 3, calling the fake "screengrab" of an article "Russian propaganda."

A video address by Budanov himself, making an appearance to comment on the May 29 strike on Kyiv and warning that Moscow "won't have to wait for our response," published on the same day, did not deter the speculation about his whereabouts and well-being.

Rumors and unverified claims continued to swirl over the next few days, as Budanov—known for his media appearances and video addresses to enemy leadership and troops—largely disappeared from the public eye.

The claims persisted despite Ukrainian officials and authorities, including the Center for Countering Disinformation (CPD), debunking the narrative.

"Russian propaganda, on behalf of the Ukrainian media, is spreading the news about the death of Kyrylo Budanov. According to these reports, the head of Ukrainian intelligence 'died' from a recent missile attack, and the National Center 'Ukrainian House' [in Kyiv] is even preparing for his burial. The news about the 'death' of the head of the GUR is more disinformation from the enemy," the CPD said in a statement.

Some of the posts used photos and videos published by Kyiv, including one of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meeting a number of military chiefs, speculated that Budanov's absence confirmed that he was either wounded or killed in the strike.

Others claimed that a video of the strike on the directorate HQ was proof that it was indeed a successful attack. The claim was repeated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said that "the headquarters of Ukraine's spy agency was hit" in the latest missile and drone barrage.

However, the open-source intelligence (OSINT) community and military analysts expressed skepticism about the purported strike seen in the video, pointing out that the missile or drone appeared to hit a river bank rather than the building itself.

"The Russian propagandists seem to think that the GUR [directorate] HQ is located under water," one account wrote, mockingly.

The unverified claims about Budanov's alleged demise persisted even as a new and somewhat cryptic video of him emerged. In a 33-second clip, the Ukrainian commander appears to sit in silence as the camera slowly zooms in on his face, ending with a text caption.

"To be continued. Plans love silence," the text says, in what some speculated to be a reference to Ukraine's ongoing counteroffensive. Newsweek was not able to independently verify the recording date of the video.

Still, the rumors about Budanov were reignited over the past week with a series of Russian state media articles claiming that he was actually in a "coma" and was "airlifted" to a German hospital.

Further reports that claimed, without evidence, he had died "without regaining consciousness" were also amplified by a number of English-language Twitter accounts.

"Budanov is urgently evacuated by helicopter from Kiev to the Polish city of Rzeszow after being critically wounded during the Russian strike. 30th May: Budanov is airlifted using a special American medical evacuation plane to Berlin, Germany," a widely-quoted Telegram post said on June 15.

"Budanov Brain Dead? Kiev Intelligence Chief Budanov paid for his bragging about the assassination of my friend Dari Dugin with a targetted airstrike that left him critically wounded. The latest news is he is in a coma in a Ramstein, Germany, hospital with zero brain activity," wrote Twitter user James Porrazzo, who describes himself as a "neo-gonzo journalist," in a post viewed 120,000 times.

The Russian media coverage appeared to ground the Budanov claims in alleged reporting by Western outlets, namely a German publication called Stern. One of the most prominent references to the publication was featured on Russian TV presenter Vladimir Soloviev's Telegram channel, which has more than 1.3 million subscribers.

""Budanov is in a coma," - the German edition of Stern," Trollstoy, a prominent misinformation account, wrote on Twitter on June 17. "According to the publication, they managed to talk with doctors from the hospital where Budanov was taken. According to them, the head of Ukrainian intelligence has a brain trauma as a result of a head injury."

The narrative was also spreading in other languages, including an Italian fake news publication called Agenzia Nova.

However, the Stern "report" appears to be an invention of Russia's state propaganda. The publication itself refuted the claim, confirming that it published no such articles or reporting on Budanov (who was last mentioned in a piece on February 18, Stern said; a claim Newsweek was able to verify independently after searching the site.)

"Russian propagandists claim, citing Stern, that the head of the Ukrainian secret service is in a coma in a Berlin hospital. But the message is fictitious," Stern's Moritz Gathmann wrote in the debunk.

"The only problem: Stern has not published such a message. The last article on intelligence chief Budanov dates from February 28 this year and reports on his assessment of whether or not China will supply weapons to Moscow.

"So the story is nothing more than a blatant fake, another hoax spread by Russian propagandists," Stern's article stated.

Newsweek has not been able to find any convincing evidence or reliable reporting to support the claims that Budanov was either killed or wounded. And he appears to have since resurfaced in the media.

On June 19, 2023, the Ukrainian publication Kyiv Post published an exclusive comment from Ukraine's intel chief, in which he insists that he is fine and ridicules Russia's claims, stating that he has now joined Ukraine's "squad of immortal commanders."

"Now in Ukraine, a special detachment of immortal commanders is being created—Valery Zaluzhny, myself, Stepan Bandera, Symon Petliura, Ivan Mazepa," Budanov reportedly stated, referencing Ukraine's military chief and prominent military leaders of Ukrainian forces from the past.

"Therefore, the Russians and their propagandists will still have a lot of work to do in a nervous, hysterical environment.

"A squad of immortals will come in the middle of the night to the dreams of Russian citizens who wanted to take over Ukraine and give them nightmares," the intel chief is cited as saying.

On Tuesday, June 20, further material emerged disputing the Russian side's claims, including a new photo of Budanov, published by Ukraine's first deputy foreign minister Emine Dzhappar on her Facebook Page.

Hours later a video of Budanov's live interview with the WeUkraineTV news channel emerged. It was recorded and published in segments on WeUkraineTV's Telegram channel.

Budanov's nod to Zaluzhny appears to be a snipe at similar rumors pushed by Russian propaganda outlets earlier this year about the death or incapacitation of the head of Ukraine's armed forces.

In June, a number of new videos featuring Zaluzhny emerged, including one where he appears to be discussing military plans while sporting a uniform with a small "Baby Yoda" patch on his chest.

On June 13, Ukrainian outlet Strana reported that Zaluzhny held a phone conversation with General Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, briefing his counterpart on the progress of Ukraine's counteroffensive operations.

Newsweek has reached out to the Russian and Ukrainian Defense Ministries, the U.S. Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff via email and to Kyiv Post via social media.

Update 20/06/2023 at 10:55 E.T.: This article was updated to include additional information about Kyrylo Budanov's media appearances.