Ukraine Sharply Changes Tactics In Talks With Russia

• 3.02.2026, 21:08

The Kremlin had to change negotiators.

After the renewal of the Office of the President, Ukraine has changed the logic and style of negotiations. With Kyrylo Budanov's arrival, Kiev has abandoned disparate channels and moved to a rigid format of "one voice," closing the possibility for Russia to play on chaos and contradictions, according to "Ukrainska Pravda".

Ukraine's negotiations were previously conducted through several channels at once. The official direction was supervised by the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak and the Foreign Ministry; in parallel, there were informal contacts through the head of the GUR Kirill Budanov and the head of the faction "Servant of the People" David Arahamia. As a result, partners and opponents received different signals.

After the negotiation process was effectively taken over by Kirill Budanov, Ukraine's position became unified and tougher.

The return of Arahamiya to the official negotiating group has reinforced this effect. He has a wide network of contacts in the United States and, just as importantly, has had direct ties with the Russian side, including the oligarch Roman Abramovich, since the Istanbul talks.

The changes have been painful for Moscow. The Kremlin had to replace the negotiators. Instead of the historian Vladimir Medinsky and ideological "storytellers about history," the military sat at the negotiating table.

Sources say that specific and extremely uncomfortable for Russia issues are now being discussed - troop withdrawals to guarantees and deadlines. The space for dragging out the process and demagoguery has become noticeably smaller.

Budanov has held several meetings abroad over the past month, so, according to sources in the OP, his attention is now almost entirely focused on international negotiations.