Vadym Skibitsky, Ukrainian intelligence: We are fighting for survival

Vadym Skibitsky, Ukrainian intelligence: We are fighting for survival

From The Interview by BBC World Service

September 8, 2026 · 23 min

About this episode

Vadym Skibitsky discusses Ukraine's military intelligence efforts and strategies in the ongoing war with Russia.

“We don’t have another way for surviving, because we are an independent state, it's our territory, it's our land, it’s our culture, it’s our history, and we must fight to prevent the full occupation by the Russian Federation our territory.” Dan Johnson speaks to Vadym Skibitsky, deputy chief of the GUR, Ukraine’s military intelligence service, about the ongoing war with Russia. Formed shortly after Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the GUR is tasked with defending the country at home and abroad through the use of political and military intelligence. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the service has played a key role in holding off and pushing back Kyiv’s larger neighbour through activities including intelligence gathering, espionage and sabotage. As the war gears up to enter another harsh winter with no obvious end in sight, both sides continue to look for new ways to break the deadlock. In this exclusive, wide-ranging interview, Skibitsky discusses Russia’s use of North Korean troops and military hardware in the war. He also talks about Ukraine's latest strategy of deep-range drone strikes thousands of kilometres into…

People in this episode

Host: Dan Johnson

Guest: Vadym Skibitsky

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: GUR

Places: Ukraine, Russian Federation, North Korea

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