U.S. Secretary of State Rubio confirmed that Russia is demanding the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from Donetsk region

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has effectively confirmed that Russia is demanding the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbas.

He said this in an interview with Fox News.

“What they are literally arguing over right now is an area of about 30–50 kilometers and 20% of Donetsk region that remains under Ukrainian control,” the Secretary of State said.

According to him, the United States will not be able to support the current level of aid to Ukraine indefinitely.

“Some people think our policy should be to fund Ukraine endlessly, for as long as the war lasts. That’s unrealistic. It doesn’t match reality. And it’s not going to happen. We’ve been saying for a long time that this scale cannot be sustained,” Rubio said.

Rubio also stressed the need to take Moscow’s position into account.

“You have to talk to both sides. There are people who behave irrationally — they think you should only talk to Ukraine and not talk to Russia at all. But you can’t end a war between Russia and Ukraine without talking to Russia,” he said.

The Secretary of State added that Washington is trying to determine whether it is possible to end the conflict on terms acceptable to both sides, and that there has been some progress, although no agreement has yet been reached.

Recall that the day before, Putin, Kushner, and Witkoff productively discussed Trump’s plan on Ukraine in the Kremlin. At the same time, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said the conversation was “constructive, very useful and substantive,” but that “there is still no compromise version of an agreement.”