Rubio says Ukraine and Russia should be focused on ending the war

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on Monday during a visit to Uzbekistan that Ukraine and Russia should focus on ending the war between them. Addressing questions regarding a potential meeting between US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to negotiate an end to the four-year conflict, Rubio noted that while he does not know if a meeting has been finalized, the president has expressed a desire for the war to end.

In a separate development, Lev Stupnikov, a 26-year-old Russian officer born in Kazakhstan, came to public attention in September 2025. According to Meduza (English), Stupnikov revealed in an interview with YouTuber Dmytro Karpenko that he spent over six months providing Ukrainian forces with targeting information to strike Russian soldiers.

RT reported that more than 200 Russian soldiers died as a result of his actions. Following his move to the front lines to fight with the Russian Volunteer Corps, Chechen special forces announced a manhunt for him.

Brief written by urgent.news from Al-Monitor, Meduza (English) — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.