The video recording has been published on the YouTube channel "We are Ukraine".
"The Russian economy is slowly regressing. As they say, everyone is witnessing its decline. [...] But, as I mentioned earlier, by 2025 we will definitely see the Russian economy and financial sector approaching a dangerous threshold," noted Budanov.
However, this will not lead to the destruction of Russia, he added.
"This is the limit after which they will need to make serious, systemic decisions at the state level. By that time, it will be difficult for them, but they will hold on. After that, they will have to make significant decisions. Yes, they may completely switch to military rails. But whether they want to do that is a big question," emphasized the head of the GUR.
According to him, "if Russia does not wake up by mid-2025," then "they will definitely have to make very difficult decisions regarding their financial economic system."
"We have talked about this, after all. Are they ready for this? Perhaps they are. Do they want this? I can say 100% that no, and they will try to do everything to prevent it. But ultimately, how we can find a solution and force them to meet absolutely fair conditions depends mostly on us," pointed out Budanov.
The head of the GUR does not currently sense a possible change in the mood of Russian society regarding the war against Ukraine, but this may happen in the future.
"This is possible, and I have spoken a lot about it before. The moods in Russian society are a phenomenon. They seem constant, but they have always changed diametrically opposite just in a day. This has always been the case throughout all times," concluded Budanov.