Rubio says Ukraine war now centers on the remaining Donbas territory Russia wants but cannot seize militarily

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the core dispute in the Ukraine war has narrowed to the part of the Donbas region that Russia still seeks to control but has been unable to capture by force.

“That war, while people keep talking about it as a war in Ukraine, that war is about Donbas,” Rubio said in an interview with India Today during a visit to India. “At its core, it’s about 11% of one part of that country that Russia wants and cannot take militarily, and that Ukraine is unwilling to give up.”

Rubio said Ukraine had legitimate sovereignty and long-term security reasons for refusing to surrender the territory and argued that the war could only end through diplomacy and concessions from both sides.

On U.S.-India relations, Rubio said closer ties with Pakistan would not come at India’s expense and said Washington shared New Delhi’s concerns about terrorism. He pointed to U.S. operations against ISIS, al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden as evidence of America’s counterterrorism record.

Rubio also defended tighter U.S. immigration rules, saying they were global measures rather than policies aimed at India, even though they affect Indian workers and U.S. companies seeking to hire them.

Asked about Trump, Rubio called him “visionary,” saying the president often pursues goals conventional political leaders dismiss as impossible.

Rubio said Washington hoped its relationship with Pakistan could give it greater influence over Islamabad while maintaining its strategic partnership with India.