Washington; India: US President Donald Trump has again urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to commit to negotiating an end to the war with Moscow, warning that failing to do so could have serious consequences. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended Washington’s support for Ukraine, saying the country would not exist as a sovereign state without American assistance.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump placed the responsibility for pursuing a settlement directly on Kyiv.
"Ukraine has to want to settle this war. Zelenskyy has to want to settle this war," Trump said. "And if he doesn't, I think it's going to be a very bad thing."
Trump expressed frustration over the scale of American financial assistance to Ukraine, arguing that US taxpayers had received little in return while continuing to face economic repercussions.
"Look, we have given tremendous amounts to Ukraine. We've got nothing back other than high diesel," Trump stated. "We have given probably more money to Ukraine than almost anybody over the years, hundreds of billions of dollars. We got nothing back. And the American taxpayers are tired of it."
Contrasting Kyiv's position with Moscow's, Trump claimed Russia wanted to reach an agreement while continuing to make territorial gains on the battlefield.
"Well, I think what's happening is that Russia would like to get it done," Trump said. "I think that—and you know, Russia is a big machine. They just keep grinding forward, and that's what they've done. They've taken a very large piece of land."
Trump also pointed to Russia's continuing advances and its manpower reserves, questioning claims that Ukraine was holding its ground effectively.
"And you know, you can say that Ukraine is doing well or poorly, but the land gets bigger and bigger all the time," Trump remarked. "Week by week, it just—they march forward. They just keep marching forward. They have an unlimited supply of people, this too."
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that Ukraine would not exist as a sovereign state without American assistance, including support provided under the Trump administration. He added that Washington was "no longer going to be defensive about this topic".
"Ukraine as a sovereign state would not exist," Rubio told reporters in Mumbai during a two-day visit to India, adding that Ukrainian fighters had "very bravely fought for their country" against a much larger foe. He said US aid had totalled "billions of dollars going back to the Biden administration".
Rubio also said he understood that US envoy Steve Witkoff's meeting with Zelenskyy a day earlier had been "positive", with "nothing unexpected" or "surprising".
According to Rubio, the two sides had discussed some ideas that Witkoff would share with Russian officials during his visit to St. Petersburg. He declined to disclose details but described the negotiations as "very difficult", saying differences over the Donbas region were at their core.(With agency inputs from ANI and Reuters)