Budanov told how to become a scout and where to learn this profession
5 August 2025 19:56
In an interview with journalist Ramina Eskhakzai, the head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, told who an intelligence officer is and how to become one, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
“First of all, (an intelligence officer – ed.) is a person who loves his homeland as much as possible. Because the work of an intelligence officer involves full dedication twenty-four seven. Not only in times when there are problems in the state, but also in normal times. It is also true that while a military man can die, be killed or be captured during the war, an intelligence officer can “sit down” at any time. Unfortunately, this is true.
Many people ask what is the difference between a scout and a spy. There is no difference. Because espionage is an article of the Criminal Code in most countries. And an intelligence officer is the same thing, only for his state. In other words, you are a hero in your own country, but a criminal in someone else’s,” explained the DIU chief.
According to Budanov, an intelligence officer must have a highly productive intellect, be able to make quick decisions and quickly assess the situation.
“The second – and this is one of the most important traits – is the ability to make decisions. It’s really a big problem to find a person who is able to make decisions independently, especially in a crisis situation. And third, again, this person should be a patriot-statesman who thinks about the state. And the job requires constant nervous tension. And this is, again, a chance that life may not go exactly as someone would like,” he said.
Where to learn to be a scout
“This is a highly debatable issue. We try to keep a balance between all professions and graduates. Of course, the military is the mainstay here. But, in principle, we take people from civilian life, from other law enforcement agencies, and from government agencies. This is not an exception. This is a standard practice for us,” the DIU chief said.
Budanov also added that the percentage of women in intelligence – both in operational and combat units – is increasing significantly.
“And this trend has been going on for quite some time. We have gender issues in a good sense, because the percentage of women is actually very high. If I’m not mistaken, we have about 1,500 women in our ranks. I’ll tell you another thing. I have been observing this since I was 20. Maybe it started a little earlier, but I’ve been interested in this since I was 20. At the entrance exams to our academy, all the top places in the ranking are taken by women,” he added.
Intelligence officers are military or civilian specialists who collect, analyze and transmit information about the enemy, the situation or other objects of strategic or tactical importance. Their activities are called intelligence.
The main functions of intelligence officers:
- Gatheringinformation about the enemy: its numbers, location, weapons, and movements.
- Observation of the area, objects or persons.
- Penetration into enemy territory to perform special tasks.
- Transmissionof information to the command for decision-making.
Types of scouts:
- Military scouts:
- Operate as part of the army.
- They work on the front line, behind enemy lines or in a combat zone.
- They can operate as separate groups (reconnaissance units) or as part of special forces.
- Agent (civilian) intelligence officers:
- Work in intelligence services (e.g., GUR, SBU, SZR).
- They can operate undercover in peacetime.
- They are often engaged in espionage, recruitment of agents, and obtaining strategic information.
- Technical intelligence officers:
- Collect information using drones, satellites, signal interception, hacking, etc.
