Kyrylo Budanov's personal contacts with American partners help maintain intelligence exchange between Ukraine and the US. This was stated by political technologist Oleg Posternak in an analysis of a publication by the American magazine The Atlantic.
„Cooperation between American and Ukrainian intelligence services continues. And to a large extent this is the result of close ties between the services, which were established during Budanov's leadership of the GUR“, Posternak said.
What information does Ukraine receive
According to the political technologist, the CIA is providing Ukraine with intelligence data that helps plan operations against Russian military facilities. The data is also used to identify threats from missile and drone attacks in a timely manner.
The Atlantic reported that American intelligence continues to assist Ukraine, including by providing information on strikes on targets deep inside Russia. American satellites also provide early warning of approaching missiles and drones.
Posternak believes that the preservation of working relations between the services is indicative, since in recent months there have been political disagreements between Kiev and Washington. He did not indicate specific changes in the volume of data transmitted, nor official confirmation from American or Ukrainian intelligence services of Budanov's role.
Relationship with negotiations to end the war
According to Posternak, Budanov's contacts with representatives of Donald Trump's entourage are also important for talks to end the war. According to him, among the key topics are security guarantees and territorial conditions of future agreements.
This is an assessment of the political technologist, not a declared agreement between Ukraine, the United States and Russia. No specific decisions or deadlines for a possible agreement have been announced.
Dependence on American data
Ukraine depends on the United States mainly in two intelligence areas - satellite surveillance and early warning systems for ballistic threats. In 2025, the exchange of intelligence data between the two countries was temporarily suspended, but after talks between Ukrainian and American representatives it was resumed.
Against this background, Posternak's statement places personal contacts between representatives of the two countries as one of the factors for the continuation of cooperation. No official statement from Washington or Kiev confirming a direct connection between Budanov's contacts and specific decisions on the exchange of data is cited.
Sources: unian.net, theatlantic.com, rbc.ua