U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Kuala Lumpur as Russia launched its most intense wave of strikes on Kyiv and Kharkiv in months. Amid mounting civilian casualties, Rubio expressed frustration at Moscow’s obstruction of ceasefire efforts. The meeting marked a major shift in Trump’s Ukraine policy, with the U.S. now viewing Putin—not Kyiv—as the main obstacle to peace. Trump’s leaked rebuke of Putin signals Washington’s harder stance as the war intensifies.
