US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that President Donald Trump was “frustrated” by allegations that he had intentionally undermined Ukraine, including claims that he ordered intelligence-sharing with Kyiv to be suspended.
“The president is frustrated because, first of all, he doesn’t like to be blamed for things that aren’t true, including accusations that somehow he had ordered intelligence sharing to be cut off. And that’s not true; he’s said that repeatedly,” Rubio said during a visit to India.
“I think the president, more than anything, is responding to the insinuation that somehow he is doing things to deliberately harm Ukraine—which is not fair and not true.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Oslo on Tuesday for discussions with senior US envoys, as Norway said the meeting was intended to help put strained relations between Kyiv and Washington “on a more constructive path.”
“We are maintaining all contacts that can help bring peace,” Zelensky wrote in a social media post announcing his arrival in Oslo.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said earlier that the talks would bring together Zelensky, US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner—the latter participating remotely—and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
Relations between Kyiv and Washington have deteriorated since President Trump partially eased sanctions to facilitate a diesel-supply agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin and accused Zelensky of being a warmonger over Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries.
Zelensky has accused the United States of intentionally withholding critical intelligence and delaying military assistance. On Monday, he said Ukraine had received no advance warning of powerful Russian missile attacks targeting energy facilities in the Kyiv region.
President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Heartland Credit Union Arena on October 19. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump was “frustrated” by claims that he had deliberately harmed Ukraine
An elderly woman clears debris from her damaged apartment after a Russian missile strike during a nighttime air attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on October 14
A wounded woman sits at the scene of an apartment building damaged by a Russian missile strike amid the war in Ukraine, in Kyiv on October 13
US-led diplomatic efforts to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II have made little progress in recent months, while Washington has shifted its attention toward the war with Iran.
The talks in Norway were scheduled to begin Tuesday afternoon and continue into the evening, Store told reporters.
“The aim is to put diplomatic efforts on a more constructive path,” he said.
Before the meeting, Zelensky said Tuesday that he had held “substantive” and “constructive” discussions with Rubio. He stressed that the Starshield US military satellite system used by Ukraine “needs to be restored” and that ballistic missile interceptors were essential to protecting lives.
Zelensky told US senators on Monday that “the Pentagon is delaying the delivery of missiles” purchased by European countries. He said the shipment was awaiting the signature of US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
He added that several European nations were prepared to supply Patriot interceptor missiles from their own stockpiles but were still waiting for approval from Washington.
The United States has denied altering intelligence-sharing arrangements with Ukraine. Rubio also said Tuesday that Washington was not intentionally holding back military supplies.
“There’s nothing being deliberately denied to Ukraine,” Rubio said.
“It’s simply a balance between our obligations to other partners and, frankly, our own requirements for our own facilities as well.”
A man hangs out the national flag at his damaged apartment balcony after a missile strike during Russia’s night air attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, October 14
Andrii Parhomchuk, an injured resident, smokes a cigarette in front of his house damaged in a Russian missile strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, October 14
A Russian drone strikes a residential area in the city centre, injuring a man who was near the impact site, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on October 15
Firefighters recover the body of an elderly woman from the rubble following a Russian air strike on a residential building in Sloviansk, Ukraine, on October 17
Trump has also denied ordering a reduction in speeds on the US government-owned and -controlled Starshield network after Elon Musk, whose company SpaceX developed it, said the order could only have come from the White House.
The US leader has accused his counterpart of not trying to resolve the conflict with Russia.
‘Zelensky doesn’t know what he’s talking about,’ Trump said on Monday.
‘To be honest, I think it’s time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine.’
Trump said he was ready to meet Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in China next month to discuss denuclearisation, adding that talks could also cover the Ukraine war – fuelling fears in Kyiv that it was being sidelined.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed earlier that ‘the topic of such a hypothetical has indeed been mentioned’ when asked about a Wall Street Journal report on Sunday that Trump, Putin and Xi could meet.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said that such a meeting would ‘only encourage Putin to continue this war’.
News outlet Axios reported that Witkoff would travel from Oslo to Russia to meet Putin.
A woman weeps after seeing her home and her neighbours buried under the rubble following a Russian air strike on a residential block in Sloviansk, Ukraine, on October 17
‘We hope that it will be possible to arrange a meeting in the very near future, allowing the American negotiators… Mr Witkoff, to brief President Putin on their contacts with both the Ukrainians and the Europeans,’ Peskov told reporters Tuesday.
Ukrainian authorities said Tuesday that Russian strikes killed at least six people around the country, as Moscow targets energy and transport infrastructure with winter approaching.
The attacks came after Zelensky said Kyiv would resume hitting Russian refineries in the face of unrelenting strikes, more than four-and-a-half years into the war.
