US Could Divert Ukraine Arms to Help Counter Iran Attacks, Rubio Says
Rubio said he made the assessment after hearing Zelensky’s comments, adding: “I saw him say that and it’s unfortunate he would say that because he knows that’s not true.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio pushed back sharply on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, accusing him of misstating Washington’s position and signaling that the United States could redirect weapons support toward Kyiv to bolster its own campaign following attacks on Iran.
Zelensky had claimed in an interview that the United States was urging Ukraine to surrender the eastern Donbas region to Russia before any post-war security commitments are finalized. Russia launched the invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago.
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“That’s a lie,” Rubio told reporters when asked about Zelensky’s remarks.
Rubio said he made the assessment after hearing Zelensky’s comments, adding: “I saw him say that and it’s unfortunate he would say that because he knows that’s not true.”
The Secretary of State said Zelensky’s account was incorrect, telling reporters in Paris after meetings involving the Group of Seven industrialized democracies: “That was not attached to, unless he gives up territory.
“I don’t know why he says these things. It’s not true.”
Rubio’s remarks followed a history of public friction between the US and Zelensky. Last year, the Ukrainian president faced blunt criticism from the White House, where Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated him inside the Oval Office.
A video of that February episode circulated widely, showing Rubio seated in the Oval Office as Trump and Vance criticized Zelensky and accused him of failing to show gratitude for US assistance.
More recently, Trump renewed his criticism, arguing that Zelensky must accept compromises and drawing comparisons that favored Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Speaking again on the broader trajectory of US support, Rubio said Washington remained open to reallocating assistance to Ukraine after the United States and Israel struck Iran.
“Nothing yet has been diverted, but it could,” Rubio said.
“If we need something for America and it’s American, we’re going to keep it for America first,” he added.
Despite that warning, Rubio said there had not yet been any shift to the so-called Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List, a NATO initiative created after Trump returned to office that allows European allies to fund weapons requested by Ukraine and purchased from the United States.