Kyrylo Budanov
Kyrylo Budanov is a Ukrainian military and intelligence official who has served as head of the Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine since 2020. He previously held senior positions within HUR and led one of its special units, and saw combat in eastern Ukraine from 2014 onward. He has been a prominent figure in Ukraine's wartime intelligence operations and in security-related negotiations.
-
Witkoff and Kushner set for Moscow and Kyiv visits with US 'proposal to end the war'
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on the evening of 4 September that US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will visit Moscow in the coming days and Kyiv on Sunday, 6 September, carrying what President Donald Trump described as 'a proposal to end the war.' Zelensky said Ukraine will pause air strikes against Russia for the duration of the trip and called on Russia to reciprocate, while Trump used the announcement to claim progress on a peace deal and to argue that Putin does not intend to attack NATO territory.