Rubio labels Russia's all-out war against Ukraine 'proxy war' between Washington, Moscow

Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine is a "proxy war" between Moscow and Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with Fox News on March 5.

Rubio's remarks underscore how the Trump administration steadily adopts Kremlin narratives. Previously, Russian President Vladimir Putin falsely claimed the West is fighting Russia "with the hands of Ukrainians."

After Russia failed to take over Ukraine within days and suffered several defeats in 2022, the Kremlin began to push the false claim that Russia was at war with NATO.

Western partners have been providing Kyiv with weapons since the beginning of the all-out war but have never sent troops to Ukraine, fearing escalation. The U.S. has now frozen all military assistance to Ukraine as the rift between Kyiv and Washington widens.

According to Rubio, U.S. President Donald Trump sees the all-out war against Ukraine as "a protracted, stalemated conflict."

"And frankly, it’s a proxy war between nuclear powers — the United States, helping Ukraine, and Russia – and it needs to come to an end," Rubio said.

The secretary of state said that continuing to give Ukraine weapons "as much as they need for as long as it takes"  is "not a strategy."

Speaking about the clash between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Trump in the Oval Office last week, Rubio said that Washington wants to engage both Russia and Ukraine in resolving the war and "we asked the Ukrainians not to sabotage it." He blamed Ukraine's president, who answered to U.S. Vice President JD Vance's comments, for "undermining" Trump's plan.

"(To find a way to end the conflict) is going to require concessions from both sides, but we have to get them both to the table.  The Ukrainians have to be there, obviously.  It’s their country.  The Russians have to be at that table," Rubio said.