Marco Rubio Says Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine has Reached a Stalemate: Russia agrees with comments from Marco Rubio that its full-scale invasion of Ukraine has reached a stalemate, according to Kremlin spokesman Dimitry Peskov.
The U.S. Secretary of State said the war had reached a “stalemate” on a visit to NATO-ally Portugal on Thursday, 8th October.
President Donald J. Trump welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Anchorage, Alaska, August 15, 2025 (DoD photo by Benjamin Applebaum)
President Donald J. Trump welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Anchorage, Alaska, August 15, 2025 (DoD photo by Benjamin Applebaum)
His remarks came ahead of a planned visit by Ukrainian negotiators to the U.S. this weekend.
Rubio’s Remarks
The Secretary of State was speaking at a joint press conference in Lisbon, Portugal, when he described Russia’s full-scale invasion as “a very dangerous war.”
He added: “It’s an extremely dangerous war because, frankly, right now it seems to be at a stalemate. Stalemates are very dangerous, because stalemates only end one of two ways.”
Rubio listed the two solutions as a negotiated settlement “where both sides have to give up something in order to get peace,” adding: “We have tried and we will continue to try and do what we can to facilitate a negotiated settlement to the end of that war.”
“The other way stalemates end is through escalation,” Rubio continued. “One side or the other, or both, escalate what they are doing in order to try to break the other side and break the stalemate. And that’s very dangerous.”
In the context of the conflict, the Secretary of State warned that such escalation could be in the form of a “sabotage campaign” against neighboring NATO members or more intensified strikes on civilian infrastructure.
“[Escalation] could be a number of other things that could happen that could quickly turn what is a war between two countries into a much broader and far more dangerous regional conflict,” Rubio said.
Russia Replies: A Clue the Ukraine War Could End
Later that day, Russian news agencies, according to Reuters, reported that Kremlin spokesman Peskov agreed with Rubio’s assessment. “Yes, we agree with him,” Peskov said during a meeting of former Soviet states in Turkmenistan.
That could mean there is hope of finding a compromise for peace.
According to one agency, Peskov argued that diplomats would need to find a peaceful conclusion to the war. “The art of diplomacy precisely involves finding some way out that would allow moving on to a peaceful track,” he added.
However, despite an invitation to a three-way summit between the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and the U.S. at the G20 Summit in Miami this December, Peskov was quoted as saying he saw no immediate prospect of such a meeting. He also restated the Kremlin’s position that Russia was seeking a long-term peace agreement, rather than a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine.
“We are not for a fragmented solution; we are for a comprehensive solution that will allow for sustainable settlement for many, many years, for decades,” he added.
Ukrainian Rejection
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during a press conference with UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, rejected Rubio’s claim that the war had reached a stalemate. “We are not at a diplomatic dead end,” Zelensky told reporters in the Ukrainian city of Pryluky.
After Rubio doubled down on his stalemate claim in an interview with Greek newspaper Kathimerini, a furious Zelensky, speaking close to a site that had been destroyed during recent Russian attacks, said: “You cannot negotiate future economic projects with Russians on the one hand and, on the other, claim that we are in some kind of diplomatic stalemate. We are not in a diplomatic stalemate.”
Call to Open Starlink
The Ukrainian President called for further sanctions on Russia and for Starlink to be opened to Ukraine. Zelensky has called for support from Elon Musk’s satellite service throughout the conflict, which he argued on Thursday would help his country’s armed forces target Russian ballistic missiles.
“Open Starlink for Ukraine,” he repeated. “You opened it when responding to Iran, after all. Everything worked there. Israel completely controlled the skies over Iran. So when you need it to work, it works.”
Zelensky added that Starlink costs “nothing” to help Ukraine. “And I said quite frankly: help us protect our skies and gain dominance there,” Zelensky continued, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin would then sit down at the negotiating table as he would “lose everything” if Ukraine had access to Starlink.
“Instead, we are waiting for the Chinese to develop an equivalent and hand it over to the Russians. This is not a stalemate; this is called a lack of will,” Zelensky said.
About the Author: Shay Bottomley
Shay Bottomley is a British journalist. He has written for the Western Standard, Business Insider, Maidenhead Advertiser, Slough Express, Windsor Express, Berkshire Live and Southend Echo.
