Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said special measures aimed at forcing Russia toward peace are continuing, telling a TSN correspondent that the war has effectively reached a strategic dead end for Russia.
Budanov described ongoing fighting as fluctuating, with advances sometimes made by Ukrainian forces and sometimes by Russian forces, but said the conflict has strategically stalled for some time.
He said the measures to force Russia toward peace would continue without specific timeframes, adding that people should not fixate on numbers like 40 days, 100 days or 15 days. What mattered, he said, was the result, and what Ukraine emerges with matters far more than how it enters the process. He also said the Kremlin still mistakenly believes it can achieve its goals militarily.
40-day drone campaign
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a new wave of drone strikes on June 25 intended to push Russia toward peace talks, while Ukraine continued striking Russian oil refineries. The Economist reported that the 40-day timeframe is best understood as political theater, with officials close to the Office of the President suggesting it was timed to align with the next possible moment for negotiations. Talks are expected to shift from behind-the-scenes channels to open negotiations in August, when Russia's high command decides whether to pursue an autumn-winter campaign.
