US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, responding to questions from senators in Congress, has confirmed that assistance from Joe Biden’s administration is still reaching Ukraine. However, no new decisions on further deliveries have been made yet.
Rubio defended the Trump administration’s foreign policy on 20 May, insisting that despite major aid cuts and agency closures, the US is not “withdrawing from the world.”
According to him, Ukraine needs more air defense systems, and the US is trying to persuade allies to share Patriot systems, particularly to defend Kyiv.
“We are working closely with our NATO allies. There are some NATO allies that do have some batteries of Patriot missiles that they could provide or transfer over to the Ukrainians… None of these countries wants to give up their Patriot systems either,” Rubio says.
However, even among partners, finding such systems is not easy.
“Munitions are being expended substantially faster than the ability of the broader West… to produce them,” he emphasizes.
Finally, Rubio repeated a point that is increasingly being heard in Washington: “There is no military solution to the crisis. It will have to end in negotiating a settlement.”
When presenting the 2026 State Department budget, Rubio faced sharp criticism from Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the committee’s top Democrat, who accused the Trump administration of wasting money, the Washington Post reports.
She also blamed it for misleading the public about halted humanitarian aid, and handing leverage to Russian President Vladimir Putin by undermining Ukraine and abandoning US allies. “American flags are coming down around the world,” she said.
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