Kyrylo Budanov, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, stated in his Telegram channel that Moscow once again turned September 1, 2026, into "yet another day of terror against Ukrainian children and civilian infrastructure." In his words, exercising its right to self-defense, Ukraine will deliver a "stiff and proportional response" to Russian shelling. Budanov emphasized that he fully supports President and Commander-in-Chief Volodymyr Zelenskyy's decision on this matter.
"New reality": long-range weapons against military targets
The key point of Budanov's statement is the assertion that Russia's sky has "lost its safety." He called this a "new reality" that Ukraine, in his phrasing, "officially warns about." "Our long-range weapons will systematically engage military targets on enemy territory," the Head of the Office of the President assured. Thus, Kyiv is marking a shift from episodic strikes to systematic operations against targets on RF territory.
Diplomacy and "pinpoint pauses"
At the same time, Budanov stated that Ukraine "respects the diplomatic efforts of partners" and is ready to provide "pinpoint pauses" — but "exclusively for real steps toward ending the war." He stressed, however: as long as the aggression continues, Ukrainian drones and missiles, in his words, will "dominate the Russian sky." The statement was made against the backdrop of a parallel address by Volodymyr Zelenskyy to all airlines using Russian airspace and to insurers working with key RF airports, noting that "the Russian sky is becoming entirely dangerous" and is de facto being closed.
Contradictory data
In the public discourse surrounding claims of "dominance" in the Russian sky, there is a nuance worth considering. According to two sources, there had previously been a plan to launch up to 1,000 Ukrainian drones per day against Moscow's airports and the surrounding area — cheap autonomous devices capable of finding and striking targets without operator involvement. However, according to the same sources, in early 2026 this plan was not adopted. Thus, the rhetoric of systematic "dominance" in the RF sky and of a "proportional response" is not identical to a specific large-scale scenario of massive daily launches, which, as reported, was not implemented. The differences in scale and status of these claims should be kept distinct when interpreting the statement.
Context and significance of the statement
Budanov's statement resonates with earlier remarks by Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the Russian sky would de facto be closed, as well as with the address to international carriers and the insurance market. Taken together, these messages form Kyiv's public position on the transition to sustained striking of military targets on RF territory with long-range weapons, while maintaining readiness for "pinpoint pauses" in the event of real diplomatic steps. Budanov's statement of September 1, 2026, is an official public statement by the Head of the Office of the President and was recorded by a number of Ukrainian media outlets.
