About General Kyrylo Budanov
The main surprise for the new negotiations comes from Russia: Kostyukov left, Medinsky joined – he is a figure associated with the failed negotiations.
The third round of trilateral negotiations between Ukraine, the United States and Russia has begun, with a view to ending the .
The new negotiations come at a time marked by significant changes in the composition of delegations and a hardening of strategic positions, highlights the .
The US is cautiously optimistic; Ukraine claims to be prepared for a “substantive” discussion from a position of strength; Russia surprised by changing the profile of its team, signaling a possible tactical shift.
According to information released by CNN journalist, the United States reinforced its delegation at the last minute with senior military officials.
Among the American representatives are the Secretary of the Army, Dan Driscoll, and the commander of US forces in Europe, General Alex Grinkevich. The political wing is led by special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, responsible for diplomatic efforts to end the war.
Budanov entered…
On the Ukrainian side, the delegation is headed by Rustem Umerovsecretary of the National Security and Defense Council. The team also includes the head of the Presidential Office, Kyrylo Budanovchief of the General Staff Andriy Hnatov, parliamentary leader David Arakhamia, diplomat Serhiy Kyslytsya and deputy director of military intelligence Vadym Skibitskyi.
Before the meeting, Budanov highlighted that the priority continues to be the defense of national interests and stressed the importance of learning from history to avoid strategic mistakes.
…Kostyukov saiu
The main surprise came from Russia. Instead of the head of military intelligence, Igor Kostyukovwho participated in the previous negotiations in Abu Dhabi, Moscow sent the presidential advisor Vladimir Medinskya figure associated with the failed negotiations in Istanbul in May 2025. The Russian delegation also includes the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mikhail Galuzinconsidered a supporter of the Kremlin’s hard line.
Political analysts interpret Medinsky’s return as a sign that Moscow faces difficulties at the factual and military level of negotiations.
Budanov’s more active input into the process would have moved the dialogue to the field technical and strategicwhere ideological narratives have less impact.
For some experts, the Kremlin may try to refocus the discussion on historical and political argumentsdiluting concrete debates on security and military terrain.
According to the political scientist Oleksiy Holobutskyi“even the high-level Russian intelligence officer (Kostyukov) proved difficult to reconcile the real military situation of the Russian Federation with fictional narratives. Therefore, the Kremlin decided to follow the old scheme — released Medinsky again. A character made not to negotiate, but to confuse meanings with historical myths.”
The expert said on TSN that he is convinced that Moscow is trying to degrade the negotiation process, transferring it from details to ideology, as it is forced to “tie the knot” and respond to the actions of the Ukrainian side, and not dictate the terms.
Future of Donetsk
According to the newspaper, the future of the territories of the Donetsk region should be the central theme of this third round. Previous rounds, carried out in the United Arab Emirates with US mediation, were described as constructive, but resulted only in prisoner exchanges, without substantial advances on the status of the occupied territories or security guarantees for Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reiterated that territorial concessions are unacceptable and that any agreement must include solid, long-term security guarantees. Moscow, in turn, opposes the presence of Western forces on Ukrainian territory and insists on objectives considered maximalist by international analysts.
Structural divergences continue to be profound; the war is unlikely to end quickly.
