In the photo next to Budanov are Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Sergei Kislitsa and Deputy Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Vadim Skibitsky. They are standing near the train.
“On the way to Geneva. The next round of negotiations is ahead. On the way with colleagues we will discuss the lessons of our history, look for the right conclusions. The interests of Ukraine must be protected,” Budanov wrote.
As reported press secretary of the illegitimate Russian President Vladimir Putin Dmitry Peskov, the negotiating group from Moscow in Geneva will be headed by historian Vladimir Medinsky. He is known for his interpretations of historical events. In particular, Medinsky began negotiations in Turkey in the spring of 2025 with a lecture with a distorted presentation of the history of Ukraine and Russia, in particular, he stated that allegedly “Russians are killing Russians,” said Kislitsa, who was then the first deputy head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. Medinsky also said that Ukraine and the Russian Federation were supposedly “destined to be close allies.” A source in the Russian authorities explained that Putin sent Medinsky to negotiations in order to “mock the world.”
Context
Preliminary negotiations with the participation of the three countries were held in Abu Dhabi (UAE) on February 4 and 5. Then the delegations reached an agreement according to which the Russian Federation and Ukraine carried out mutual liberation 157 prisoners of war. This is the first exchange in the last five months, noted NSDC Secretary Rustem Umerov, who heads the Ukrainian delegation.
