Ukraine does not expect conditions for a cease-fire with Russia to take shape before spring 2027, Presidential Office chief Kyrylo Budanov said, signaling that Kyiv sees little prospect of an imminent halt to the war.
Citing an interview with Budanov last weekend, The New York Times reported Friday that he believes conditions for a halt to hostilities in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war are unlikely to emerge before spring.
"Negotiations will sooner or later come to something. You cannot fight your whole life,” Budanov was quoted as saying.
His remarks came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an evening video address that Kyiv hopes to meet U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys "in the coming days.”
Zelenskyy said there are "preliminary dates” for a visit by U.S. envoys to the Ukrainian capital and that Kyiv expects to receive the representatives. The envoys are also expected to hold meetings in Moscow.
Moscow and Kyiv last held U.S.-mediated peace negotiations earlier this year, with three rounds of talks on Jan. 23-24, Feb. 4-5 and Feb. 17-18. The first two rounds were held in Abu Dhabi, while the third took place in Geneva.
The negotiations have since been paused, with Moscow and Kyiv attributing the halt to Washington’s focus on Iran following the outbreak of war in late February.
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner have never visited Kyiv, while both have made several trips to Moscow since U.S.-mediated talks began. Their latest visit was on Jan. 22, when they met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin.
Citing sources, news website Axios and Russian state news agency Tass reported earlier Friday that the two U.S. envoys are expected to visit Moscow and Kyiv over the weekend.
