PARIS — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Friday that Washington may abandon its efforts to mediate a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine if no tangible progress is made in the coming days.
Speaking to reporters in Paris after a full day of high-level talks with Ukrainian and European officials, Rubio said that while discussions were “constructive,” a decision point is approaching.
“We are now reaching a point where we need to decide whether this is even possible or not,” Rubio said, adding that the U.S. administration is prepared to assess “within days” whether a peace deal is still a viable goal in the near term.
The meetings in Paris marked the first time since President Donald Trump’s return to office that senior U.S., Ukrainian, and European officials have convened in such a setting. The summit reflected growing concerns among European allies about the Trump administration’s signals of a potential rapprochement with Moscow.
French officials confirmed that a follow-up meeting in the same format is expected to take place in London early next week. Rubio said he is likely to attend.
Rubio and U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff have been leading the American effort to forge a ceasefire. Witkoff has held multiple rounds of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, including three in-person meetings. However, Moscow has continued to reject a full ceasefire, tying any agreement to Ukraine halting its military mobilization and Western nations suspending arms deliveries—conditions Ukraine refuses to accept.
Despite ongoing negotiations, violence on the ground continues to escalate. Russian strikes in recent days have left dozens dead and injured across Ukrainian cities. The city of Kharkiv was hit early Friday by multiple cluster munitions in a densely populated neighbourhood, killing at least one person and injuring over 60, according to Ukraine’s Emergency Service.
In Sumy, where a deadly missile attack on Palm Sunday killed at least 34 civilians, a drone strike on a local bakery this week claimed another life and wounded an employee. Photos from the site showed Easter cakes covered in dust and rubble inside a damaged building.
Dnipro also came under attack Thursday, where a drone strike killed three civilians and wounded dozens more, including children. Regional Governor Serhii Lysak reported that one child died and five others were injured.
The attacks come as Ukraine pushes for deeper security assurances from Western allies. A Ukrainian delegation attended Thursday’s meeting in Paris to seek further guarantees amid ongoing Russian aggression.
As the war drags on and diplomatic avenues narrow, Rubio’s remarks highlight growing frustration within the Trump administration over Moscow’s resistance to peace, and could signal a potential shift in Washington’s involvement if progress fails to materialize in the days ahead.