Ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine has been violated several times - US Secretary of State

"Obviously both sides claim that the ceasefire has been violated. It's typical of ceasefires like this, but that said, not concrete in terms of are we closer to peace? We're closer to peace simply because talking to both sides, but we're not closer to peace because we have a deal on our hands to end this conflict, but we're going to know soon enough. That's my point. I make everybody, you know, people come, oh well, Putin, you can't trust him. It's not about trusting Putin. It's not about trusting anybody. This is about actions. If you're interested in peace, you stop fighting and you lay out the conditions by which you're willing to end the war, and they have to be reasonable conditions, right, not crazy stuff," the US Secretary of State said.

Rubio added that the war is ongoing, so "something will explode now in both Ukraine and Russia." According to him, US President Donald Trump's goal is a complete ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

"That's what we're trying to end. OK, if we have a true ceasefire, which is what we want a complete ceasefire, nothing should be blowing up. But the Russians didn't agree to that. They wanted a partial and then obviously when you get into these partials, that's one of the reasons why we push for a partial. We'll take it because it's better than nothing. But one of the reasons why didn't we, why we didn't push for a partial, because there's always disputes about what are you hitting and what you're not hitting," the US Secretary of State noted.

The Secretary of State added that the US wants to hear from Russia whether it is ready for peace. According to Rubio, if Moscow responds with "yes," there is a way to achieve peace, but if the answer is "no," the US needs to know in advance to "adjust our policies accordingly."

Ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia

During their conversation, US President Donald Trump and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin agreed on an energy ceasefire. This involves halting strikes on each other's energy infrastructure.

Later, during meetings in Saudi Arabia, the teams from Ukraine and the US, as well as separately the US and Russia, discussed security in the Black Sea. This included ensuring the safety of civilian shipping.

Ukraine agreed to the arrangements discussed with the US, but Russia has made demands. While Moscow claims to adhere to the energy ceasefire, in March, the Russian army attacked energy facilities in Kharkiv, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kherson regions. Meanwhile, Russia accuses Ukraine of violating the ceasefire.

The Presidential Office emphasized that Ukraine considers the energy ceasefire to be still in effect.

To find out more about the ceasefire and what Ukraine, the US, and Russia say about it, read our article on the topic.