Rubio denies US paused intelligence sharing with Ukraine, says Zelensky should focus on ending the war
Speaking in Uzbekistan, the US Secretary of State rejected Kyiv's account of a three-day halt in missile-warning intelligence. He said a possible Trump–Putin–Xi meeting had been discussed but he did not know whether it had been finalised.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that the United States had not paused intelligence sharing with Ukraine, contradicting an account given by President Volodymyr Zelensky a day earlier.
“There has been no pause,” Rubio told reporters in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where he is meeting Central Asian officials, AFP reported. “What he should be focused on and what we want to be focused on is bringing an end to this war,” he said of Zelensky, adding that Washington also wanted Russia to be focused on ending the war.
Zelensky told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday that Ukraine did not receive US warnings of Russian ballistic missile attacks for three days and that the intelligence had since been “deblocked by the American side”. “We are very thankful for this. Now it works,” he said, Euronews reported. For his full remarks, see our earlier report.
Asked about a possible meeting of President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on ending the war, Rubio said: “There’s been talks of a meeting. I don’t know whether it’s been finalized,” Reuters reported. He said the war carried “the very real risk of escalation”, including from drones diverted by electronic warfare into neighbouring countries.
Zelensky has said recent US steps, including a sanctions waiver for Russia and a deal to import Russian diesel, will hurt Ukraine, Al Jazeera reported. Trump said on Sunday the waiver was meant to keep Russia at the negotiating table.
See also: Zelensky tells Bloomberg US steps look aimed at pushing Ukraine to capitulate.
Sources
- Rubio says there was no US pause in intelligence sharing with Ukraine · Al Jazeera (with AFP and Reuters)
- Marco Rubio denies there was any pause in US intelligence sharing with Ukraine · Euronews (with AFP)
- Rubio says Ukraine and Russia should be focused on ending the war · Reuters, via Al-Monitor
- Rubio says no pause in US intel sharing with Ukraine · AFP, via Arab News
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