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“Nothing Is Being Deliberately Denied”: Rubio Calls Zelenskyy to Ease US-Ukraine Tensions
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a phone call that US President Donald Trump had issued no order intended to harm Ukraine, Axios reported on October 20.
The 45-minute phone call was aimed at preventing tensions between Washington and Kyiv from escalating further and to respond to concerns in Kyiv that Trump was pressuring Zelenskyy to make concessions to Russia.
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Rubio told reporters after the call that the Pentagon had not changed its policies on intelligence sharing with Ukraine, weapons sales, or restrictions involving the Starshield satellite system.
“No change was ordered. It is not true that we restricted it,” Rubio said.
Rubio acknowledged that there could be delays in delivering Patriot interceptors already paid for by NATO countries. He explained that the US must ensure it retains enough missiles to protect its own military bases around the world, according to Axios.
“Nothing is being deliberately denied. We balance between our obligations to partners and our own needs,” Rubio said. “There hasn’t been a deliberate political directive to harm Ukraine.”
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Axios reported that Rubio also attributed several cases in which Ukraine received no advance warning of Russian ballistic missile attacks to technical failures rather than a US decision.
“No doubt there are tensions,” Rubio stated. “That is why we had the call. The president is frustrated. The president is responding to the insinuation that he is doing things to deliberately harm Ukraine, which is not fair and not true.”
Rubio added that Trump was “angry and frustrated” over the lack of progress in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, Axios wrote.
After the call, Zelenskyy wrote on X that he was “grateful” for Rubio’s “readiness to help and his clear position.”
I spoke with Marco Rubio @SecRubio, and it was a substantive conversation – focused on the issues that matter. I am grateful for his readiness to help and his clear position. First, ballistic missile interceptors, which are needed to protect lives. Second, early warning of…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 20, 2026
The Ukrainian president emphasized that Ukraine needs ballistic missile interceptors and early warning information to protect civilians, adding that “the situation with Starlink and Starshield needs to be restored.”
The call took place several hours before a new round of negotiations in Oslo with White House envoy Steve Witkoff. The talks are aimed at developing a common position with European allies on an updated peace proposal to present to the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, according to Axios.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, representatives of the UK, France, Germany, and Poland, as well as EU and NATO officials, were expected to participate, Axios reported.
After the Oslo meetings, Witkoff plans to travel to Russia to meet Putin and present proposals developed in consultation with Ukrainian and European leaders.
The call followed several days of disputes over US support for Ukraine. Zelenskyy had criticized restrictions affecting Starlink and Starshield operations and separately reported that Ukraine received no advance warning before five Russian ballistic missiles struck Kyiv, stressing that early intelligence on launches is critical for protecting civilians.
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