"They should be used in a very tailored way for very specific, well-crafted operations because if they are used at the front line and just in a combined arms fight, they will not live very long on the battlefield. They need to be used in those breakthrough operations, but very well-prepared," Budanov said in an interview with online magazine.
He also said that a small number of ATACMS missiles "won’t change the situation," as Kiev needs "at least hundreds" if not thousands of such weaponry.
The head of Ukraine's military intelligence also said that using air defense systems to fight Russian aviation is "very costly and ineffective," adding that he would prefer striking Russian air bases instead.
Kyrylo Budanov is on the Russian law enforcers' wanted list. They charge him with several crimes, including terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure.
On Friday, US President Joe Biden said that the first several US-supplied Abrams tanks will arrive in Ukraine next week.
The Ukrainian counteroffensive began on June 4. Kiev has thrown into battle brigades trained by NATO instructors and armed with Western equipment, including Leopard and Challenger tanks. Three months later, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Ukrainian counteroffensive had failed, with Ukraine suffering an estimated 71,000 casualties. Several Western officials also admitted that the Ukrainian counteroffensive had not been successful so far.