Russia is being forced to lower its stated goals in the war against Ukraine as reality on the battlefield undermines Moscow’s original objectives, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, said on Thursday, May 21.
Speaking during the Kyiv Stratcom Forum 2026, Budanov said Russian officials have had to continuously adapt their messaging to explain the lack of success in achieving earlier war aims.
“Time passes, and under the influence of the unpleasant reality they face, they are forced to find answers for their society,” Budanov said, according to Ukrinform.
“And each time this bar gets lower. Everyone sees this.”
Until January 2026, Kyrylo Budanov served as the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, known as HUR. Both before and after leaving the post, Budanov has remained one of the key Ukrainian officials involved in negotiations and strategic discussions related to ending the war with Russia.
According to Budanov, Russia’s early narrative of capturing Kyiv “in three days” later evolved into taking control of Donbas “at any cost.”
“About a week ago, if I’m not mistaken, another new narrative appeared: ‘Ukraine must be a non-nuclear state and must not join any military alliances,’” he said. “This is already a new goal, meaning the bar is lowered again.”
Budanov said Russian authorities understand that maintaining earlier promises about rapidly capturing Kyiv is no longer realistic.
“They also understand that saying ‘just give us Donbas’ will not work either,” he said. “So they begin preparing society for the idea that achieving Ukraine’s non-aligned status, for example, would also be a victory.”
He described the shift as a “completely normal transformation” caused by the failure to achieve Moscow’s initial objectives.
On Wednesday President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine has maintained “good contacts” with the United States and hopes to return to meaningful trilateral peace talks in the coming weeks, this time with European participation.
“If we manage to return to meaningful trilateral communication in these weeks and if we manage to involve the Europeans, that will be the right result,” Zelensky said.
He stressed that Ukraine is ready to take the necessary steps.
“I expect that the partners will also be ready and that the Russians will not hide,” he added.
The first round of trilateral talks between Ukraine, the United States, and Russia took place on Jan. 24 in Abu Dhabi. A second round followed in February, also in Abu Dhabi, before further discussions were held in Geneva. However, peace negotiations later stalled amid the escalating US-Iran conflict and continued disagreements over the Donetsk region.