Rubio calls Ukraine war a stalemate, says peace elusive

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday, October 8, that a negotiated end to Russia's war in Ukraine is "proving elusive." In an interview with the Greek daily Kathimerini, he described the conflict as a "strategic stalemate". His remarks add to doubts about President Donald Trump's latest effort to broker peace, which began in early September. Since then, Moscow has signaled little interest in more U.S.-mediated talks.tass+1

"We stand prepared to facilitate and continue to explore any opportunity for a negotiated settlement. We think it would be good for Russia and Ukraine, but so far, it's proving elusive," Rubio told the newspaper, according to Russia's state news agency TASS.tass

Two ways out of a stalemate

Rubio warned that stalemates of this kind tend to end in only one of two ways. "Strategic stalemates are only broken in one of two ways: a) through a negotiated settlement, or b) through escalation by one side or both that ends up spreading beyond the confines of the original conflict," he said. "Right now, there don't seem to be prospects of a negotiated settlement".tass

Rubio said the main obstacle is Russia's demand for all of Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast, which Kyiv has rejected. According to Charter'97, he also said the war has not gone the way Russian President Vladimir Putin planned when he launched the full-scale invasion in 2022. The outlet reported that Rubio voiced concern about sabotage in a country neighboring Ukraine that could spiral out of control, citing attacks by sea and air drones on merchant ships off Bulgaria as an example. Rubio added that Washington is still prepared to play a constructive role.kyivindependent+2

Peace push stalls

Trump's envoys traveled to Kyiv and Moscow in September, hoping for progress before the U.S. midterm elections. Their only concrete result was an agreement in principle to hold a trilateral meeting of Ukraine, Russia and the United States. A month later, that meeting is still uncertain. On October 7, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said there were "currently no plans to hold talks in this format".kyivindependent

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on October 4 that Kyiv would likely support U.S.-organized meetings. "But it is very important that not only Ukraine but also the Russian side support these meetings," he said. Ukraine has called for a ceasefire along the current front line. The Kremlin has rejected a ceasefire and is demanding that Kyiv give up the parts of the Donbas it still holds, territory Russian forces have not managed to capture.kyivindependent

Rubio's comments came as the fighting continued. Russia launched missile and drone strikes across Ukraine overnight on Putin's 74th birthday, October 7–8, killing at least 30 people, the Kyiv Independent reported. Separately, at least 33 people died when a Russian glide bomb hit a bus stop in Kramatorsk.kyivindependent