Top Ukrainian official gives inside look at the war with Russia

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Exclusive: Top Ukrainian official gives NewsNation an inside look at the war

Exclusive: Top Ukrainian official gives NewsNation an inside look at the war

(NewsNation) EXCLUSIVE — Four and a half years after Russia attacked Ukraine, the war between the two countries continues to rage. But this is not just a regional war, according to Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.

Budanov says we could be at the beginning of World War III, if peace does not prevail soon. 

“North Korean troops are in Europe. Russia is supporting Iran that fights the U.S. and civilized countries of the Gulf. There’s a whole range of hostilities happening in various countries of Africa where you see the same players support one or the other side,” the official told NewsNation.

Despite multiple conflicts around the world, his focus is on Ukraine and finding an end to the more than four-year-long war.

In an exclusive, far-reaching interview with NewsNation, Budanov — effectively the chief of staff to President Volodymyr Zelensky and the former head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency — paints a clear-eyed picture of the war, the importance of the relationship with the U.S., Ukraine’s stability after a period of internal strife and what he personally relies on to navigate life during wartime.

The interview was conducted prior to the U.S. delegation traveling to Ukraine, but after CIA Director John Ratcliffe reportedly visited Moscow.

Of the official’s trip to the Russian capital, Budanov says he views it as a “positive thing because you need to always be talking.”

He added he was glad Ratcliffe spoke with the Russians about a trilateral summit, because it shows that the U.S. is ready for it. Ukraine, he continued, is also ready but he does not believe Russia is.

This past weekend’s trips, by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, to Russia and Ukraine to jumpstart talks is a step forward, though nothing concrete has come of it yet.

A Ukrainian source familiar with the discussions in Kyiv, said they “were productive, some new ideas were discussed, and the goal is to end the war by the winter.” 

FILE – Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov speaks during press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)

Budanov said he would “love this war to end in a just way so the aggressor would be punished.”

He also acknowledged that whenever a ceasefire is declared, the territorial lines will be “formed by the real state of affairs, the real status quo on the front line.”

So, it’s possible Ukraine could lose some territory given Russia currently occupies sections of the Donbas region. He expects the end to fighting to come with the help and mediation of the U.S., and specifically Trump.

In the meantime, the war is at a stalemate, the lieutenant general noted, adding, “Russia is not getting any strategic advances on the battlefield.”

He explained that Moscow may get “certain tactical gains, but we are getting certain tactical gains, too.”

“That is the reason why Russia switched to ordinary tactics of drone and missile terror against civilian populations and against civilian infrastructure,” Budanov continued.

Wednesday, a Russian drone struck near a mall killing at least two and wounding 14 others. Another strike hit a........

© The Hill