Rubio calls avoiding energy-site strikes the 'ideal outcome' for Russia and Ukraine
The remark stops short of the demand Ukraine has made for Russia to halt strikes on its power grid.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio said an ideal outcome would see both Russia and Ukraine refrain from targeting energy sites, framing it as a hope rather than a condition either side must meet.
The comment comes as Ukraine's energy infrastructure remains under pressure. A drone strike damaged a radiation monitor at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, according to Russian-installed officials, with the plant sitting on the front line.
Diplomatic activity is picking up around the remark. Rubio is due to meet Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in New York on September 23. President Zelenskyy is set to meet President Trump in New York today, and met CIA director John Ratcliffe in Ireland beforehand. Zelenskyy told CBC he is ready for an unconditional ceasefire.
Rubio's choice of words puts Washington's position below where Kyiv has placed it. Zelenskyy has explicitly called for Russia to stop striking Ukraine's power grid, while Rubio describes the same goal as an aspiration for both sides. The gap points to a US posture leaning toward dialogue over demands, and it leaves the underlying dispute over war aims untouched heading into the New York meetings.