Kyiv Aide Calls Ending Ukraine War Before Winter 'Realistic' as Russian Strikes Hit Capital

On Monday, Kyrylo Budanov, the former Ukrainian spymaster who now serves as Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief of staff, said that ending the war with Russia before winter is a realistic goal. He described it as the president's instruction: to try to end the war as soon as possible, preferably before the cold sets in. In his own assessment, he said, that aim is absolutely correct, timely and realistic.

Budanov was backing a position Zelenskyy laid out in an interview aired on Sunday. The president called for reviving stalled talks with Russia before winter, arguing that Kyiv's improved strategic position should be taken into account. Last week a senior Ukrainian commander said Ukraine had a six-month window to seize the battlefield initiative and strengthen its hand for negotiations. Budanov added that he expected a US delegation to visit both Moscow and Kyiv in the near future, though he gave no details.

The diplomacy unfolded alongside another night of attacks. Early on Tuesday, Kyiv came under heavy Russian assault, and authorities urged residents to take shelter. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a fire broke out in the Podil district on the grounds of a non-residential property, and that a nine-storey apartment building was burning after debris apparently hit its roof. In Obolon, he said, cars were on fire after being struck by falling missile debris, and two blazes had started in open areas, one of them near a kindergarten. Reuters and Agence France-Presse reported that air defences were operating over the city, according to their journalists and witnesses. On Monday Zelenskyy had repeated warnings of a possible massive strike and asked residents to pay close attention to air raid alerts.

At sea, France detained a suspected Russian shadow fleet oil tanker, the Tagor, on Sunday morning. It was stopped in international waters more than 400 nautical miles (740km) west of Brittany, with help from the UK and other partners, according to President Emmanuel Macron. French authorities said the ship had left Murmansk in north-west Russia bound for Cameroon, sailing under a false Cameroonian flag. It was being escorted to an anchorage for further inspection. Moscow complained of piracy. Macron said the operation complied strictly with the law of the sea, and called it unacceptable for ships to evade international sanctions and finance Russia's war against Ukraine, now in its fifth year.

Zelenskyy also made a claim about Ukraine's reach: its military, he said, can hit Russian military logistics across virtually the entire depth of the occupied territories, leaving almost no safe roads for Russian forces in the south and east.

There are signs of strain inside Russia's fuel sector. RBC reported on Monday that the government intends to increase fuel supplies from Belarus and tighten oversight of gasoline and diesel exports because of domestic shortages. A full two-month ban on gasoline exports, including under some intergovernmental agreements, is reportedly under discussion. Russia also banned aviation fuel exports until the end of November. In occupied Crimea, Sevastopol's Russian-installed governor, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said fuel sales would be limited on Tuesday amid rationing caused by Ukrainian attacks.

The war's reach into neighbouring states also drew a response at the United Nations. On Monday, dozens of countries denounced Russia after a Russian drone struck an apartment building in Romania, injuring two people. Romanian foreign minister Oana-Silvia Toiu, speaking for 56 UN members including EU and Nato states, said such behaviour is unacceptable under international law and must stop.

What to watch next is whether the expected US delegation actually travels to Moscow and Kyiv and whether it revives talks, and whether Russia's fuel restrictions deepen as Ukrainian strikes continue.