Rubio Denies Trump Ordered Actions to Harm Ukraine

Efforts to repair strained relations between Washington and Kyiv continued Tuesday as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Donald Trump had not ordered measures intended to harm Ukraine. The reassurance came during a 45-minute phone call ahead of renewed peace negotiations in Norway, where Ukrainian and US officials sought progress toward a proposal to end Russia's war against Ukraine.

The conversation followed Zelensky's accusation that Trump was attempting to pressure Ukraine into accepting an agreement with Russia. Relations have deteriorated over US decisions and policies that Kyiv says have weakened its position, including the waiver of sanctions to purchase Russian diesel and restrictions affecting military and communications support.

Ukraine has accused the White House of withholding intelligence needed to protect civilians, blocking shipments of Patriot air-defense missiles and limiting Starlink satellite internet speeds to force Kyiv toward concessions at the negotiating table.

Rubio rejected the allegation that Washington had deliberately withdrawn support for Ukraine. Speaking to reporters during a visit to India, the secretary of state said the accusations had frustrated Trump.

"There has not been some deliberate political directive to go out and harm Ukraine," said Marco Rubio, US secretary of state.

The diplomatic discussions moved to Oslo on Tuesday, where Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre hosted a new round of talks between US and Ukrainian representatives. Støre described the timing as significant for Ukraine, as officials worked to establish a negotiating position acceptable to Kyiv and its European partners.

Before the meeting, Zelensky emphasized the need to maintain diplomatic engagement and improve Ukraine's military defenses.

"We are maintaining all contacts that can help bring peace.

"We will also discuss strengthening our air defence and joint production," Volodymyr Zelensky wrote online.

US officials said the discussions were intended to produce a Ukrainian-European peace proposal that US envoy Steve Witkoff could present during planned talks in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Witkoff met Zelensky in Norway before his scheduled trip to the Russian capital.

European and Ukrainian officials have expressed concern about the prospect of negotiations that could exclude Kyiv. Putin was reported to be considering a trilateral meeting with Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss ending the war.

Speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday, a speaker identified in the source article as a woman argued that sustained European support had prevented Ukraine from accepting Russian terms.

"American negotiators have been trying to push Ukraine into surrender for almost two years, one and a half years now," she told the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday.

"Why Ukraine hasn’t surrendered on Putin’s terms is because Europe has been supporting Ukraine," she said.

The diplomatic dispute unfolded alongside continued Russian attacks. Russian drones struck an operating room on the sixth floor of the Strazheska Institute of the National Academy of Medical Sciences in Kyiv on Tuesday, injuring one patient, according to Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi.

Koretskyi said the medical institution had been hit previously, with an earlier attack last year striking its fourth floor. The latest strike hit the sixth floor, where the operating room is located.

"This is the second time. Last year, the attack hit the fourth floor of the institute, and now it is on the sixth floor, where the operating room is located," said Serhii Koretskyi, Ukrainian prime minister.