Ukraine intelligence chief says Kyiv wants a demilitarized border zone up to 60 miles inside Russia to prevent future conflicts

An intel chief says Ukraine wants a demilitarized border zone up to 60 miles into Russian territory.

He said it would prevent future conflict and "shouldn't be an issue" if Russia doesn't plan attacks.

Major General Kyrylo Budanov said Ukraine had "successfully targeted" some Russian propagandists.

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The head of Ukraine's military-intelligence service says Kyiv wants to set up a demilitarized border zone up to 60 miles into Russian territory.

Major General Kyrylo Budanov said the goal would be to prevent future conflict with Russia. "If they are not going to attack and don't decide they want revenge in a couple of years, this shouldn't be an issue," The Times of London reported Budanov said.

It's unclear how or when the zone could be created, especially with the current conflict showing little sign of ending.

Budanov added that Ukraine wanted the demilitarized zone even if Russian President Vladimir Putin was overthrown, as it would help conserve peace in the future.

Budanov was also asked by the Ukrainian YouTube channel Rizni Lyudi whether Ukraine had killed any Russian "propagandists" since the invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.

He said that targeted killings had taken place but didn't comment on specific incidents.

"We've already successfully targeted quite a few people. There have been well-publicized cases everyone knows about, thanks to the media coverage," he said, according to the Times' translation.

Budanov said he couldn't comment on any specific examples, adding: "We're not going to confirm or deny any information whatsoever," according to a translation by Meduza.

Military bloggers and other media figures in Russia have urged Putin and other officials to launch large-scale attacks in Ukraine and to use more brutal tactics against Ukrainian citizens and soldiers.

Budanov said the Kremlin had "invested so much in this propaganda machine that it began to influence them in the end."

He said his agents had targeted Russians who committed war crimes against Ukraine. "These cases have happened and will continue. Such people will receive a well-deserved punishment, and the appropriate punishment can only be liquidation and I will implement it," he said, according to The Times.

Several high-profile Russians who supported the invasion have been killed or injured since it began.

These include Vladlen Tatarsky, a military blogger who was killed in an explosion in April in a Saint Petersburg café. The Kremlin said that Ukraine, which denied involvement, was responsible for the explosion. Russia's foreign minister praised Tatarsky after his death, saying he died "boldly" and was "doing his duty."

Darya Dugina, a pro-war Russian TV commentator and the daughter of an influential Russian nationalist thinker, was also killed in a car bomb last August. Russia said that Ukraine was responsible, but Ukraine denied any involvement.

Reports in October said the US believed Duginmightay had been killed on the orders of the Ukrainian government.

Budanov said in another interview that Ukrainians weren't responsible for recent attacks on infrastructure in Russia.

He told another Ukrainian YouTube channel that those attacks — which included attacks on Russian oil facilities — were the actions of unhappy Russians.

He said they were carried out "almost 100 per cent by citizens of the Russian Federation," The Times reported.

Budanov also said Ukraine considered Putin a legitimate target but was not trying to take him out.