US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a direct demand for Russia to halt the “killing” in Ukraine during a closed-door meeting with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on 24 September, as reported by the State Department and confirmed by Russian media.
According to the New York Times, Rubio “reiterated President Trump’s call for the killing to stop and the need for Moscow to take meaningful steps toward a durable resolution of the Russia-Ukraine war,” US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.
The meeting came just one day after Trump’s extraordinary reversal on Ukraine—abandoning months of pressure for territorial concessions and instead declaring that Kyiv could “WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form.”
Trump’s stunning about-face changes everything
The diplomatic drama reflects a complete transformation in Trump’s approach to the Russo-Ukrainian war. For months, the President had insisted that Kyiv would likely need to cede territory to Russia to end the war and told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he “doesn’t have the cards” to achieve victory. Their February White House meeting devolved into a televised “shouting match” where Trump accused the Ukrainian leader of being ungrateful.
But Trump abruptly reversed after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday, writing:
“After getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia Military and Economic situation and, after seeing the Economic trouble it is causing Russia, I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form”.
Trump also called Russia a “paper tiger,” saying it “has been fighting aimlessly for three and a half years, a war that should have taken a Real Military Power less than a week to win“.
America’s patience runs out
The shift represents growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to engage seriously in peace talks. Speaking at the UN Security Council on Tuesday, Rubio warned there would “come a moment in which we will have to conclude that perhaps there is no interest in a peaceful resolution” from Russia and that Trump’s “patience is not infinite“.
“Major sanctions”: Trump doubts his ability to influence Putin, so he shifts responsibility onto Europe
According to CNN, US officials said Trump’s abrupt shift “came amid fresh frustration at Russian President Vladimir Putin, and was intended to apply more pressure on Moscow to come to the negotiating table“. The American President had expected his personal relationship with Putin to yield progress after their August summit in Alaska failed to make headway.
What Moscow’s position reveals about Russian weakness
Russia’s response to the US pressure exposed the limitations of Putin’s strategy. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov disputed Trump’s “paper tiger” comment, telling Russian media: “Russia is not a tiger; Russia is more closely associated with a bear. There are no paper bears. Russia is a real bear“—a defensive reaction that suggested Moscow was stung by the characterization.
The meeting between Lavrov and Rubio took place behind closed doors without opening press statements, according to the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. When asked by CNN how their meeting went, Lavrov gave a thumbs up but did not answer questions on whether he was concerned about Trump’s shifting tone.
Kremlin says it will continue killing Ukrainians despite sanctions, while Kyiv calls for real security
Ukraine sees opening for total victory
Zelenskyy praised Trump’s pivot as “a big shift, a really big shift” and called the US President himself “a game changer”. The Ukrainian leader said he thinks Trump is now aware of “more details” of what is happening on the battlefield, and suggested that US intelligence on the situation is aligned with Ukraine’s.
“We expect America’s actions to push Russia toward peace. Moscow fears America and always pays attention to it,” Zelenskyy said at a UN Security Council meeting.
Why this diplomatic shift matters globally
Trump’s reversal signals that even a relatively Russia-friendly Western leader concludes that Putin’s aggression cannot be rewarded with territorial gains. This likely removes Moscow’s last hope for legitimizing its conquests through a US-brokered deal that would have set a catastrophic precedent for international law.
The change also demonstrates how Ukraine’s military resilience has shifted global perceptions of the conflict’s trajectory. Recent Ukrainian strikes have reached deeper into Russian territory, including attacks on oil refineries that have disrupted Moscow’s war economy.
For European allies who had worried about American abandonment, Trump’s new stance provides crucial backing for their own hardline positions. The shift makes it politically easier for NATO countries to maintain sanctions and military support for Ukraine.
Russian spokesman blames Zelenskyy for shifting Trump’s war rhetoric, disputes all claims of “aimless war” and “paper tiger”
What comes next
Despite Trump’s public shift, US officials said the president “remains adamant that new US sanctions on Moscow won’t happen until European nations cut off their purchases of Russian energy“. This suggests Washington still expects Europe to lead on economic pressure while America provides diplomatic backing.
Zelenskyy said Trump had reiterated that the United States would provide security guarantees for Ukraine after the war ends, though he noted: “We don’t have specific things, details on the paper”.