U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has forcefully rejected accusations from Ukrainian leadership that Washington is intentionally withdrawing vital military and intelligence support, labeling such claims as inaccurate and outrageous during a diplomatic trip to India.
Rubio’s remarks followed a 45-minute telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The discussion preceded a high-level meeting in Oslo, Norway, where U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were expected to meet with Zelenskyy on Tuesday. The Norwegian government confirmed that Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb would also participate in the negotiations, with Kushner joining via videoconference.
The diplomatic engagement comes as Kyiv struggles to navigate an evolving American diplomatic approach that has coincided with moves toward the Kremlin. President Donald Trump’s recent policy decisions—including the waiver of certain sanctions and a diesel agreement with Russia aimed at lowering domestic fuel prices ahead of midterm elections—have raised concerns among lawmakers in Congress and international allies regarding Washington’s role as a mediator.
Trump publicly criticized Zelenskyy on Monday, calling on the Ukrainian leader to “get somebody else to negotiate.” Trump also downplayed the severity of ongoing military actions, telling reporters that Russia has “been fine on Ukraine” and “haven’t been doing much,” despite nearly four and a half years of daily attacks that have claimed civilian lives and destroyed infrastructure.
Ukrainian officials have expressed mounting frustration over shifting dynamics. On Sunday, Kyiv reported that it received no early warning from the United States prior to a ballistic missile strike targeting the capital, marking the third such occurrence in recent days. Zelenskyy also stated that Ukraine continues to experience unexplained speed restrictions on Starshield, the military version of SpaceX’s satellite service, alongside delays in the delivery of critical ballistic missile interceptors.
“All of this suggests that some political decision has been made to slow down support for us,” Zelenskyy said in a virtual address to a bipartisan Congressional delegation on Monday.
Following his call with Zelenskyy, Rubio maintained that U.S. backing remains unchanged. Speaking to reporters at the onset of his trip to India, Rubio stated that nothing has been deliberately withheld from Ukraine, dismissing the assertions made by Kyiv’s leadership as factually incorrect.
“That’s scandalous, that’s outrageous, that’s just simply not true. That’s not accurate,” Rubio said.
Despite the assurances from Washington, the human cost of the ongoing conflict was underscored on Monday in the eastern Kharkiv region. Local officials released images from a public park where a Russian drone strike killed a one-year-old girl and her mother. In a social media post condemning the attack, Zelenskyy urged international actors to deploy their collective strength to halt the violence.
