Rustem Umerov

When Umerov took over foreign intelligence on 3 August 2026, Ukrainian reports said he would keep working on negotiations with Washington. Miami confirmed it: he sat with Kyrylo Budanov on Kyiv's team opposite Witkoff and Kushner, in talks that closed on 9 October after one day.

His new post gives the meeting's sharpest point extra weight. Umerov now runs the agency that depends on US intelligence ties abroad, and Axios's account had the envoys threatening to curb those ties over Ukraine's refinery strikes. Washington's next ask, technical talks that bring Moscow in before October is out, keeps Umerov's negotiating role alive; Zelenskyy named the UAE as a possible venue.

As Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, Umerov led Kyiv's team at both 2026 Istanbul rounds with Russia. Round 1, on 16 May, lasted about an hour, settled no territory and produced a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange.

Round 2 at Ciragan Palace on 2 June agreed swaps of up to 1,200 prisoners a side and the return of 6,000 soldiers' bodies. Moscow rejected Ukraine's 30-day Ceasefire and offered a two-to-three-day pause instead. Umerov's channel worked for exchanges precisely because they avoided territory, and stalled on a Ceasefire for the same reason.