Secretary of State Marco Rubio might be the United States’ top diplomat, but there was nothing diplomatic in his language on Friday.
During a meeting with reporters at the end of a foreign ministers summit in France, Rubio was asked about a statement by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy describing security guarantees the U.S. has offered in talks to end the Russian war in Ukraine.
Rubio’s response was blunt to the point of insult.
REPORTER: Did the US tell Zelensky that security guarantees depend on withdrawing from Donbas?
SECRETARY RUBIO: That’s a lie, and I saw him say that, and it’s unfortunate he would say that because he knows that’s not true. That’s not what he was told. pic.twitter.com/9SygxeFXWA
— Dylan Johnson (@ASDylanJohnson) March 27, 2026
A reporter had asked Rubio to comment on Zelenskyy statements reported Thursday by Reuters, in which the Ukrainian president said U.S. security guarantees depended on Ukraine withdrawing its forces from the Donbas region in Ukraine’s east — the scene of heavy fighting between Russian invaders and Ukrainian defenders.
In effect, Zelenskyy said the U.S. was pressuring Ukraine to surrender its territory in exchange for American support against future Russian aggression.
“That’s a lie,” Rubio said. “And I saw him say that, and it’s unfortunate he would say that, ’cause he knows that’s not true, and it’s not what he was told.
“What he was told is the obvious: Security guarantees are not going to kick in until there’s an end to a war. Because, otherwise, you’re getting yourself involved in a war …
“What he was told very clearly, and he should have understood it, is that the security guarantees come only after there is an end to the war.
“That was not attached to, ‘unless he gives up territory.’ I don’t know why he says these things. They’re just not true.”
The blowup is the latest battle between Zelenskyy and the Trump administration. That relationship has experienced some rocky moments since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.
At that point, the war in Ukraine, which started in February 2022, had been raging for almost three years.
The friction came to a head a year ago, with a televised White House clash between Zelenskyy, Trump, and Vice President J.D. Vance that saw Zelenskyy actually booted from the White House.
Since then, the two sides have worked together. However, with the Trump White House now occupied with military action against Iran, Ukraine-Russia talks might well have a lower priority than they did when Trump took office.
“The Middle East definitely has an impact on President Trump, and I think on his next steps. President Trump, unfortunately, in my opinion, still chooses a strategy of putting more pressure on the Ukrainian side,” Zelenskyy told Reuters.
In his remarks Friday, Rubio made it clear that the U.S. isn’t making Ukraine’s decisions for it.
“We’ve told the Ukrainian side what the Russians are insisting on,” he said, according to The Associated Press.
“We’re not advocating for it. We’ve explained it to them. It’s their choice to make. It’s not for us to make for them. We’ve never told them they have to take it or leave it.
“The role we have played is to try to figure out what both sides want, and see if we can bridge the middle ground.”
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