Kyrylo Budanov, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, spoke for the first time in such candid terms at the "Ukraine Tomorrow" international forum about Kyiv's attempts to reach an agreement with Moscow on a mutual cessation of long-range attacks. According to him, the initiative was personal, but so far no agreement has been reached, and the conflict continues to develop along an escalation scenario.
Personal Initiative by the Head of the OP
Budanov emphasized that the issue of stopping mutual long-range strikes was raised by him personally during contacts with the Russian side. "Believe me, we tried. I'll tell you straight, I tried this personally. Right now it's not working, let's be honest about it," stated the Head of the Office of the President. Thus, Kyiv confirmed that at the diplomatic level attempts were made to agree on a moratorium on attacks, but Moscow did not give a positive response.
Escalation and Forced Response
According to Budanov, after the failure of the negotiation initiative, the parties went down the path of further escalation, which forced Ukraine to respond "with all means at its disposal." "It is painful. It is agonizing for everyone. It is painful for them too. But as of now, there is no choice. We must think about how we will survive under these conditions," he noted. The Head of the OP stressed that the current situation is abnormal and requires the state to build a survival strategy amid the ongoing conflict.
Context: Strikes on Russia's Oil Refining Infrastructure
Budanov's statements came against the backdrop of confirmed strikes on fuel infrastructure facilities in Russia. The GUR (Main Intelligence Directorate) of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense had previously released evidence of the shutdown of one of Russia's largest oil refineries in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast following a successful strike. In addition, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces confirmed that the Special Operations Forces struck the "Slavneft-YANOS" oil refinery in Yaroslavl — one of the largest enterprises in the industry in the aggressor country. These events illustrate precisely the escalation scenario that Budanov was talking about.
International Context
The issue of long-range strikes by the Ukrainian Armed Forces with Western weapons on targets in Russia remains a subject of debate at the level of Western capitals. Earlier in Paris, the French side recalled President Emmanuel Macron's position on the restrictions on the use of supplied weapons. This creates an additional diplomatic backdrop in which Kyiv is forced to balance between the need for defense and the expectations of allies. Budanov's statement at the "Ukraine Tomorrow" forum can be seen as a signal that Kyiv has exhausted diplomatic options at this stage and is ready to continue the operation with all available means.
