Zelenskyy calls Rubio talks "substantive" as Starlink and interceptors top agenda

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he held a “substantive” phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday. Announcing it on Telegram, he called it “a substantive conversation — focused on the issues that matter” and said he was “grateful for his willingness to help and for his clear stance”, according to the Kyiv Independent, Censor.NET, LaPresse and CGTN.

Zelenskyy said the two discussed three priorities — ballistic-missile interceptors, “essential for protecting lives”; early warning of Russian ballistic missile attacks, “a matter of vital importance”; and the Starlink and Starshield situation, which he said “needs to be restored”. They agreed to speak again soon, and he thanked Rubio for his “constructive approach”.

The call comes amid Kyiv’s accusations, reported by the Kyiv Independent, that Washington is using military aid and technology access to press Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries. Ukraine has recently suffered disruptions to US intelligence-fed early-warning systems — attributed by US officials to “bad weather conditions”, while Rubio cited a software malfunction — and to Starlink and Starshield services hampering drone operations.

Ukrainian officials and military officers told the Kyiv Independent that US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has yet to approve a significant batch of Patriot interceptors, a delay Kyiv called another example of political pressure. Zelenskyy also claimed in a Sunday interview that Starlink was being deliberately throttled, pointing at “the authorities and the White House”; Rubio denied any White House role and said Ukraine does not have access to Starshield.

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