Ukrainian military intel: Russia may try to split up country ‘under Korean scenario’

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s military intelligence chief says that Russia could try to break Ukraine in two.

Kyrylo Budanov says in remarks released today by the defense ministry that Russian President Vladimir Putin has realized “he can’t swallow the entire country” and would likely try to split the country under “the Korean scenario.” That’s a reference to the decades-old division between North and South Korea.

Budanov says that “the occupiers will try to pull the occupied territories into a single quasi-state structure and pit it against independent Ukraine.” He points to Russian attempts to set up parallel government structures in occupied cities and to bar people from using the Ukrainian currency, the hryvnia.

Budanov predicts that Ukrainian resistance will grow into a “total” guerrilla warfare, derailing Russia’s attempts.