Ukraine intel: Russia may try to split country

Kyiv, Mar 27: Ukraine's military intelligence chief says that Russia could try to break Ukraine in two.

Kyrylo Budanov said in remarks released by the Defense Ministry on Sunday 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 said that "the occupiers will try to pull the occupied territories into a single quasi-state structure and pit it against independent Ukraine." He pointed to Russian attempts to set up parallel government structures in occupied cities and to bar people from using the Ukrainian currency, the hryvnia.

Budanov predicted that Ukrainian resistance will grow into a "total" guerrilla warfare, derailing Russia's attempts.