Kyrylo Budanov: Ending the Hot Phase of the War by Winter Is a Realistic Goal
The Head of the President's Office, Kyrylo Budanov, stated that ending the hot phase of the war by November is "realistic." He spoke about this at the "Security Architecture" forum in Kyiv.
Recently, the Head of State, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said that Moscow began losing the initiative on the battlefield since December 2025, and there is an opportunity for diplomatic negotiations to end the war before winter arrives.
"This is the President's directive – to try to end this war as soon as possible. And I confirm, this is truly his effort – to stop hostilities as soon as possible, preferably by winter. And as the Head of the President's Office, I will definitely do everything to achieve the goal set by the President of Ukraine. In my opinion, it is absolutely correct, timely, and well thought out," Budanov said.
According to him, ending the hot phase of the war by winter is a "realistic (goal)."
Budanov was asked why Zelenskyy also named November as the deadline for ending the hot phase of the war and whether there are any signs from partners about accelerating assistance.
"Stop underestimating our role: that someone has to give us something, say something, or gift something, and so on. No, there is the position of the President of Ukraine, which he clearly voices – and we will implement it," the Head of the President's Office replied.
He also stated that he is confident that Ukrainian capabilities are sufficient to "try to achieve and realistically implement" the end of the war by this deadline.
Budanov also noted that the effectiveness of negotiations depends on all participants in the process: "This includes both our position and the Russian position. Unfortunately, such issues are not resolved unilaterally – otherwise, we probably would have done it long ago."
According to the official, Russia "does not strongly want" peace, but "now, more than ever," there are prospects that Moscow will be ready for "certain actions in the near future."
"Therefore, I believe in this (negotiation) process, despite everything," Budanov added.
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