A weaker side has never dictated conditions to anyone and will never do it, Kirill Budanov has conceded

Kiev needs to engage in talks with Moscow, the head of Ukraine's military intelligence, Kirill Budanov, has said. Negotiations are simply unavoidable for the ongoing conflict between the two nations to end, he added.

He made the remarks in an interview with the broadcaster Suspilne published on Saturday, ahead of a meeting between Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky and US President Donald Trump on Sunday. The two are about to discuss a peace framework, according to the Ukrainian leader.

Earlier this week, Zelensky also revealed a 20-point plan he claimed Kiev had discussed with the US. Moscow dismissed it as a non-starter. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Friday it was "radically different" from the proposals discussed by Russia and the US. He also said that Moscow was "fully ready" to move forward with the peace process while Kiev and its European backers were seeking to "torpedo" it.

"A negotiation process is definitely needed and cannot be avoided anyway," Budanov said. He also maintained that the talks should be held behind closed doors to be successful. "All negotiations on very difficult issues - and the war between Russia and Ukraine... is one - had failed when silence was not observed," he noted. His words echoed earlier comments by Moscow, which also stated that the peace talks should be held behind closed doors and criticized what it called the EU and Kiev's megaphone diplomacy.

Budanov also called on Kiev to rein in its ambitions. "A weaker side has never dictated conditions to anyone and will never do it," he stated, while rhetorically asking in which field Ukraine could consider itself to be stronger than Russia. He also admitted that it was natural for Moscow to think about its interests first just like any other nation would.

Budanov had initially emerged as a hardliner in the Ukraine conflict. In December 2023, a Moscow court ordered his arrest on terrorism charges after accusing him of masterminding over 100 "terrorist attacks" on Russian soil - something he had openly advocated. Earlier this year, he changed his rhetoric and called for a ceasefire "as soon as possible."