Kyrylo Budanov reveals regular contact with Yevgeny Prigozhin

Kyrylo Budanov, the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, has revealed that he maintained regular contact with Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Group, during his tenure as the head of Ukrainian military intelligence (GUR).

In an interview with The New York Times, Budanov confirmed these communications took place before the relationship ended shortly before Prigozhin’s 2023 rebellion against the Russian military leadership. While Budanov did not disclose the specific nature of their discussions, previous reports suggested Prigozhin had offered deals to Ukrainian intelligence, such as providing information on Russian troop positions in exchange for a Ukrainian withdrawal from Bakhmut.

Prigozhin died in a plane crash in August 2023, two months after leading a mutiny against the Russian military command.