Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a Wednesday interview described the war in Ukraine as a proxy war between the United States and Russia, as he sought to explain on the Oval Office blowup last week between Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, President Trump and Vice President Vance.

“I think an important thing to understand about last Friday is not last Friday. It’s everything that led up to it,” Rubio said during an interview on Fox News’s “Hannity.”

“It’s been very clear from the beginning that President Trump views this as a protracted, stalemated conflict,” Rubio said. “And frankly, it’s a proxy war between nuclear powers, the United States helping Ukraine, and Russia.”

Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, nearly a decade after it occupied and annexed Crimea, then a region of Ukraine.

The U.S. under the Biden administration, along with traditional allies in Western Europe and around the world, backed Ukraine after the invasion.

Describing the fighting between Russia and Ukraine as a proxy war meshes with a Russian narrative of why the war started. Russia argues that Ukraine’s efforts to join NATO, coupled with the western military alliance’s encroachment on Russia, triggered the fighting.

After the end of the Cold War, NATO extended to include many countries in Eastern Europe and the Baltic states, which at one time were under Soviet control. NATO has added Sweden and Finland as members since the Russia-Ukraine war began, after those two countries decided it was in their interest to join the alliance given what they saw as Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia agreed with Rubio and said they have agreed several times that the war is a conflict between Russia and the U.S.-led West, Reuters reported.

Trump in the past few weeks has accused Ukraine of starting the war and blamed Zelensky and the Biden administration for its continuation. He also cut off aid to Ukraine on Monday, which has led European countries to look for ways to build up their support for Kyiv.

Ukraine this week has sought to mend fences with Trump, signaling it could agree to a deal that would share some of its mineral wealth with the U.S. as a repayment for U.S. support.

Rubio slammed Ukraine during the interview on “Hannity,” arguing that it has no plan besides asking allied countries for more aid “for as long as it takes.”

He reiterated his point that the European conflict is stalemated.

One of Zelensky’s top aides said there would be another meeting between the two leaders in the “near future” to further discuss peace talks.

Rubio said he was glad that it appeared another talk was coming because he believes the conflict needs to end.

“It’s going to require concessions from both sides, but we have to get them both to the table,” he said.

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Trump has ‘lost his patience’ with Hamas: Rubio

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that President Trump has “lost his patience” with Hamas and advised the administration to turn up the pressure on the Palestinian militant group to release the remaining hostages.

In an interview on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity,” Rubio described the president’s “last warning” to Hamas earlier that day to release all the hostages, living and dead, immediately.

Rubio noted that message came after hosting eight former hostages at the White House.

“People don’t realize the president meets with these people, he hears their stories; he’s outraged, and rightfully so,” Rubio told Sean Hannity.

“He’s tired of watching these videos every weekend where hostages that are emaciated are released and bodies are turned over, and sometimes it’s the wrong bodies, and there’s five here and three there, and there’s games that are being played,” Rubio continued, referring to recent exchanges amid the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. “And he’s lost his patience with it.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump took to Truth Social to issue a direct warning to Hamas, which still holds about 24 living hostages and the bodies of at least 35 others, according to Israeli officials. An American citizen, Edan Alexander, is understood to be among the living hostages still in captivity.

“Release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you. Only sick and twisted people keep bodies, and you are sick and twisted!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday.

The president added in his post that he is “sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job, not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don’t do as I say.”

His warning came after the White House confirmed it has authorized Middle East envoy Steven Witkoff to engage in direct talks with Hamas. The move is unprecedented and, according to The Associated Press, is the first known direct engagement the U.S. has had with Hamas since it was designated a foreign terrorist organization in 1997.

Rubio said Trump’s message is consistent with his foreign policy approach, adding that he wished other foreign leaders would exert similar pressure on Hamas.

“He’s been very clear about this from the beginning. He’s created space and time for this to be solved. And now it’s time for seeing it come to an end. Enough of this already,” the secretary of state said. “These people have been in captivity now for over a year and a half. These are monsters. It needs to stop.”

“I wish there were more international pressure along the same lines here, but I’m glad he’s putting those statements out,” Rubio continued. “He doesn’t say these things and not mean it, as folks are finding out around the world.”

He added, “So they’d better take that seriously.”

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