Ending Russia's war before winter is realistic, Budanov says

It is a realistic goal to end Russia's war against Ukraine before winter 2026, President's Office Head Kyrylo Budanov said on June 1, responding to a question from the Kyiv Independent.

Budanov's position aligns with recent remarks by President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said in a May 31 interview that as Moscow loses the initiative on the battlefield and Kyiv steps up long-range strikes inside Russian territory, the window for effective peace talks with Moscow will remain open until the winter.

When asked, Budanov agreed with that assessment.

"The president has tasked us with trying to end this war as quickly as possible. I can confirm that this is indeed his goal — to bring hostilities to an end as soon as possible, preferably before winter," Budanov said, speaking at the Architecture of Security Forum in Kyiv.

"As head of the President's Office, I certainly do everything I can to achieve the objective set by Ukraine's president."

Budanov described the aim as "absolutely right, timely, and well considered." According to him, a range of factors suggests there is hope that Russia could agree to a "certain proposal" to halt hostilities.

As a former spy chief, Budanov has often made bold forecasts about the war's outcome, not all of which have come true.

Speaking about the battlefield situation, Zelensky said earlier that Russia's territorial gains over the past month hadn't exceeded its losses, adding that "we need to find a diplomatic way to sit and to speak" before winter.

"But it depends (on) the pressure on (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, the pressure in his society, and I think that is increasing, the pressure by sanctions — not to lift them, to put more," the Ukrainian president said in an interview with CBS News.

The latest trilateral talks involving Ukraine, Russia, and the U.S. took place in mid-February. A follow-up meeting, first planned for late February and later pushed to early March, was canceled shortly before U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran shifted Washington's focus to the Middle East.

Russia's territorial demands remain the main obstacle to progress.

Ukraine maintains that freezing the current front line is the most realistic basis for a ceasefire. Russia, meanwhile, continues to insist that Ukrainian forces withdraw from parts of Donbas region as a precondition for any settlement — a demand Kyiv has rejected.

In a rare acknowledgment from Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in late May that the U.S.-mediated peace talks have effectively stalled.

Still, Budanov does not think the negotiations are at a deadlock.

"Certain processes are ongoing, though they are not fully public," he added.

According to the President's Office chief, U.S. President Donald Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, confirmed plans to visit Kyiv and Moscow "in the near future."