‘I spent most of my life in intelligence’: Budanov discusses negotiations with Russians

According to the head of the Presidential Office and former chief of Ukraine's Defense Intelligence (HUR), he has been involved in negotiations with the Russians since 2022.

"There is nothing new for me there. You understand perfectly well that all prisoner exchanges, the former grain corridors and so on took place as part of a certain process. I have no problem communicating with the enemy. I spent most of my life serving in intelligence," Budanov said.

Asked to elaborate, the head of the Presidential Office said that each side in the negotiating process seeks to achieve its own goal.

"We need a result. And they need their own result. All our negotiations take place somewhere between these positions. Everyone wants to achieve their own goals. And that is normal," Budanov stressed.

Responding to a journalist's remark about the need for a compromise, Budanov expressed hope that the war would end once one is found.

Commenting on the possibility of resuming trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States, he said Washington and Kyiv want such talks to take place. The question, according to Budanov, is Russia. Time will show how ready Moscow really is, the head of the Presidential Office said.

On Sept. 8, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the next trilateral meeting between Ukraine, Russia and the United States could take place in the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Turkey or another country.

Trump envoys' visits to Kyiv and Moscow

On Sept. 5, U.S. presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited Moscow and held talks with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. On Sept. 6, they traveled to Ukraine for the first time.

In Kyiv, Kushner said Trump was seeking not only an end to Russia's war against Ukraine but also a lasting peace.

Zelenskyy, for his part, said the U.S. envoys' visits to Kyiv and Moscow were aimed at "unblocking" the diplomatic process and that they had presented several new ideas.

According to Zelenskyy, part of the talks focused on possible de-escalation steps by Ukraine and Russia ahead of and during the winter. The president did not disclose all the details of the proposed initiatives.

On Sept. 8, U.S. President Donald Trump held a phone call with Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin said they discussed Witkoff and Kushner's recent trips to Moscow and Kyiv.