Oleh Ivashchenko
Lieutenant general heading Ukraine's military intelligence directorate, the GUR, since January 2026.
Ukraine's military intelligence chief told The Times on 10 September 2026 that Russia's commanders wanted 800,000 more men from the Kremlin. Putin's 28 September decree raised the Army ceiling but ordered no call-up.
Last refreshed: 12 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Timeline for Oleh Ivashchenko
Mentioned in: Putin lifts army ceiling to 1,550,500
Russia-Ukraine War 2026Ivashchenko says generals asked Putin for 800,000 troops
Russia-Ukraine War 2026Background
Lieutenant General Oleh Ivashchenko, Born on 9 September 1969, has headed the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine's Defence Ministry, the GUR, since 2 January 2026. The GUR is Ukraine's military intelligence service, separate from the domestic Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
He is a career intelligence officer. From 2015 he served as first deputy head of the GUR and as deputy chief of the general staff for intelligence, then as assistant to the commander-in-chief for intelligence. Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed him head of the Foreign Intelligence Service on 26 March 2024. At the GUR he replaced Kyrylo Budanov, WHO moved to lead the Office of the President.
He speaks in public FAR less than his predecessor, which gives weight to the few statements he makes. His September 2026 assessment of Russia's manpower needs framed the debate over whether Moscow would mobilise after its parliamentary elections.
His estimate set the mobilisation debate
In a rare interview, Ivashchenko told The Times on 10 September 2026 that Russian commanders wanted 800,000 more men after the Duma elections. He put the ceiling on Russian intake at 300,000 to 500,000 recruits at once, so the request could not land in one wave. He also put recruitment at 1,000 to 1,200 men a day, against 1,374 average daily Russian casualties since 1 July on Ukrainian figures.
Putin's Decree 700 on 28 September raised the Army's authorised strength to 1,550,500 from 1,510,000 but ordered no call-up. That fits ISW's view of rolling call-ups rather than mass mobilisation, and leaves the 800,000 figure an intelligence claim not yet tested.
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