Ukraine blasts Russia Day well-wishers as Rubio sends greetings to Moscow

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha‎ slammed countries that extended good wishes to Moscow, as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated the Russian people on Russia Day this Thursday.

No senior U.S. official before Rubio had congratulated Russia on its national day since the Kremlin began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. No other allied Western leaders have done so this year either.

Sybiha said at a meeting in Rome that it was “particularly unpleasant” for him to read “the public congratulations from certain countries to the Russian aggressor,” though he did not specifically name the countries in question.

In his congratulatory message, Rubio wrote that the U.S. “remains committed to supporting the Russian people as they continue to build on their aspirations for a brighter future.”

“We also take this opportunity to reaffirm the United States’ desire for constructive engagement with the Russian Federation to bring about a durable peace between Russia and Ukraine,” he wrote. “It is our hope that peace will foster more mutually beneficial relations between our countries.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called Rubio’s greeting “very positive news,” which confirms that the current White House administration is “completely different from the previous Biden administration.”

Since returning to the White House, President Donald Trump has sought to reset relations with Russia and President Vladimir Putin, who he has praised repeatedly since first taking office in 2016. But in recent weeks, Trump has shown signs of frustration with Putin and questioned Moscow’s willingness to make peace with Ukraine.

“Russia is simply lying to Trump,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday, adding that he hopes the White House recognizes that.