National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine
The RNBO (National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine) is a coordinating body under the President of Ukraine that shapes state policy on national security and defence. It is chaired by the president and includes the prime minister, the chair of the Verkhovna Rada, the heads of the security and defence agencies, and senior ministers. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the council has regularly adopted decisions on sanctions, martial law, and other strategic defence matters.
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Budanov reveals years of back-channel contacts with Russia's GRU chief and Prigozhin, advises Zelensky against Donbas concessions
Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview with The New York Times published on 4 September that he maintained long-running contacts with Russian military intelligence chief Admiral Igor Kostyukov and the late Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin. He advised President Volodymyr Zelensky not to accept any compromise on Donbas that would give Russia formal control over territory its military failed to seize on the battlefield.