Budanov sees no ceasefire conditions before spring despite possible September talks

Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine's Presidential Office, stated that peace talks mediated by the Trump administration could resume by the end of September, but conditions for a ceasefire are unlikely to emerge before spring. He made the remarks in a New York Times interview published September 4. Budanov said negotiations will eventually lead somewhere, adding "you cannot fight a war all your life." Earlier that day, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will visit Kyiv on Sunday, September 6, after a trip to Moscow, with Ukraine ensuring safe airspace for their arrival. The visit was previously postponed from August due to intensified Russian strikes. No substantive talks between Ukraine and Russia have occurred for months; prior rounds in the Middle East and Switzerland yielded only prisoner exchange agreements. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in early August that Washington plans to intensify peace efforts.