By Eric Martin
Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the Trump administration’s support for Ukraine, saying the nation “would not exist” without US backing.
“If it were not for the assistance of the United States, including under the Trump administration, there would be no Ukraine right now,” Rubio told reporters on Wednesday during a visit to India. “Ukraine as a sovereign state would not exist.”
Rubio made the remarks while responding to questions about a Wall Street Journal report that said Elon Musk, chief executive officer of SpaceX, ordered a recent slowdown of the Starlink satellite system that helps Ukraine to fend off deadly Russian aerial assaults.
The report, citing unnamed American and other officials, said Musk discussed the Starlink decision with President Donald Trump after the slowdown became publicly known. The Journal also reported that a person familiar with the matter said Musk, a Trump ally, had talked about the Starlink slowdown with administration officials before it went into effect.
Rubio said he wasn’t aware of any foreknowledge by the president, and said the US in any case can’t control what a private company does with its product.
“It’s not accurate that we somehow knew about this ahead of time or directed it in any way,” Rubio said in response to questions about the Journal report.
He said that the US was “no longer going to be defensive about this topic,” while adding that Ukrainian fighters have “absolutely very bravely” stood up to Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in an interview with Bloomberg on Sunday, accused Trump of trying to coerce his country into capitulating to Russia.
But at a press conference in Oslo on Tuesday, Zelenskyy sounded more upbeat on relations with the US, saying he discussed intelligence sharing and access to Starlink with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“We’ve been very concrete, and the organization was very positive,” Zelenskyy said alongside leaders from Norway and Finland, who also attended the talks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks with Witkoff on Ukraine in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said, according to the state-run Tass news service.
Witkoff arrived in the city early Wednesday from Oslo. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre told public broadcaster NRK that the US envoy will return to Oslo later the same day.
Zelenskyy told reporters on Tuesday that one aim of Witkoff’s trip is to plan for a trilateral meeting of the US, Ukrainian and Russian presidents “to address the issues that only the leaders can do,” including around territorial claims. “Let’s see what Putin has to say,” Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian president is due to appear Wednesday on Fox News’ Fox & Friends show as he continues to press the case for US support of Kyiv against Russia’s full-scale invasion that’s now in its fifth year.
Rubio said a “very difficult negotiation” is taking place to try to resolve the war. The talks now are centered around the fate of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, Rubio said, adding that some “creative ideas” have been proposed to bridge the differences.
“Both sides will have to agree to give up on something” and those conversations are “difficult,” Rubio said. “I think for Ukraine, the predominant desire is to ensure their long-term security and safety, so that they’re never re-invaded or re-attacked in the future.”
