Viktor Taran: Vera Budanova's Confidence In Victory Is Based On Her Knowledge Of The Situation
- Victor Taran
- 11.09.2026, 19:12
Without rose-colored glasses.
I watched an interview with Kirill Budanov, recorded back in early 2025 for the book *Commanders of Victory*. A year and a half has passed, yet some of his remarks sound as if they were made today. This is especially true regarding negotiations with Russia.
Budanov makes a very clear distinction between a ceasefire and peace. Reaching an agreement on a ceasefire is entirely feasible. Achieving a just peace is much more difficult. Because you have to negotiate with an enemy that hasn’t abandoned its goal of destroying you. That’s why there will be both “carrots” and “sticks,” as well as various proposals for a deal. And Russia will try to use any lull to recover and regroup.
This is worth remembering today, as we are once again talking a lot about negotiations, a ceasefire, and ending the war.
A ceasefire in and of itself does not yet mean true peace. Budanov speaks about Russia’s capabilities without going to extremes. Yes, it has enormous mobilization resources. It is prepared to sacrifice its economy to continue the war. But “Kyiv in three days” has long since turned into years of brutal warfare. Advancing comes at a very high cost for Russia—and not at all at the pace the Russian “Führer” had counted on.
The enemy must never be underestimated. But neither should he be portrayed as all-powerful. A good example is provided by the first large-scale shifts of combat operations onto Russian territory. It’s even a little strange to recall this now, but back then we were convinced that it was impossible to shift combat operations onto Russian territory. We were told that Putin would press the nuclear button and the world would come to an end. The Ukrainian forces went in anyway. No nuclear strike followed. Nor did the Armageddon promised by the propagandists begin.
The significance of such operations went far beyond their purely military outcome. They broke an important psychological barrier and demonstrated that a significant portion of Russia’s “red lines” only exist as long as we ourselves are afraid to cross them. Today, Ukraine is already striking the enemy from thousands of kilometers away. And what now seems almost routine required, at the time, the resolve not to be afraid of Russian threats.
The talk of war fatigue struck a very painful chord, because it is more relevant now than ever. Budanov agrees that everyone is tired of the war. And that’s absolutely normal after so many years of death, anxiety, loss, uncertainty, and constant tension. This fatigue cannot be overcome with slogans or yet another dose of platitudes. People need results; they need victories on the front lines, in diplomacy, and in politics. It is these victories that provide energy and restore faith that all these efforts have meaning and that we are moving forward, rather than simply holding the line indefinitely.
Yes, we desperately need faith that tomorrow will indeed come—and that it will be a tomorrow without Russia and its desire to destroy Ukrainians and Ukraine. Budanov’s belief in victory is based on being well-informed. It is based on an understanding of the actual state of affairs, the enemy’s capabilities, and our own resources. In his view, this is precisely where any strategy must begin—without rose-colored glasses when it comes to ourselves. But also without exaggerating the enemy’s strength or fearing it.
I think that in his new position, the amount of information Budanov has access to has only increased. But even his interview from a year and a half ago sounds, at times, more relevant today than it did then.
Viktor Taran, Facebook