Rubio slams Zelenskyy's Donbas comments and says US may divert Ukraine arms to Iran

Published on 27/03/2026 - 20:02 GMT+1

Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of lying implicit US demands connected Friday and voiced an openness to divert weapons earmarked for Kyiv to enactment the warfare connected Iran.

Zelenskyy had said successful an interrogation that the United States was pressing Ukraine to cede the eastbound Donbas portion to Russia earlier finalising immoderate post-war information guarantees.

"That's a lie," Rubio told reporters erstwhile asked astir Zelenskyy's remarks.

"I saw him accidental that and it's unfortunate helium would accidental that, due to the fact that helium knows that's not true," Rubio said successful Paris aft talks with the Group of Seven industrialised nations.

"What helium was told is the obvious: information guarantees are not going to footwear successful until there's an extremity to a war, due to the fact that different you're getting yourself progressive successful the war," Rubio said.

"That was not attached to, unless helium gives up territory," Rubio said. "I don't cognize wherefore helium says these things. It's not true."

The onslaught connected Zelenskyy was particularly striking coming from Rubio, a erstwhile hawkish legislator who has mostly been seen arsenic much supportive of the Ukrainian origin than immoderate others successful President Donald Trump's circle.

In a country that went viral successful February past year, Rubio sat sullenly successful the Oval Office arsenic Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Zelenskyy, saying helium was ungrateful for US assistance.

Recently, Trump has again criticised Zelenskyy, saying that helium needs to judge compromises and comparing him unfavourably with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Rubio said that the United States was unfastened to shifting assistance to Ukraine aft the United States and Israel attacked Iran.

"Nothing yet has been diverted, but it could," Rubio said.

"If we request thing for America and it's American, we're going to support it for America first."

But helium said determination had not yet been immoderate alteration to the alleged Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), a NATO inaugural established aft Trump's instrumentality successful which European allies money weapons requested by Ukraine that are purchased from the United States.