Zelensky invites US Secretary of State Rubio to Ukraine after he said the country was "thrown back 100 years"

President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to visit Ukraine, saying that the war has "thrown" the country back 100 years. According to the president, Rubio should see what Ukrainians have done to ensure the security of their homeland and the world.

Zelensky made the statement in an interview with the Associated Press on Saturday, February 1. According to him, Rubio "needs to come to Ukraine, first of all, to see what Russia has done."

"But also to see what the Ukrainian people have done, what they have been able to do for the security of Ukraine and the world, and just talk to these people," the Ukrainian president said.

Zelensky also said that removing Ukraine from the US-Russia talks on the war in Ukraine would be "very dangerous" and called for additional discussions between Kyiv and Washington to develop a ceasefire plan.

According to the president, Russia is unwilling to participate in ceasefire talks or discuss any concessions that the Kremlin views as a loss at a time when its troops have the upper hand on the battlefield.

Zelensky added that US President Donald Trump could bring Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table by threatening sanctions against Russia's energy and banking systems, as well as continued support for Ukraine's army.

"I think these are the most immediate and important steps," he said.

The conversation took place against the backdrop of Trump's recent statements that US and Russian officials are "already talking" about ending the war and that the US side is having "very serious" discussions with the Russians.

On January 31, Marco Rubio said: The United States recognizes that Russia and Putin have done "terrible things." According to him, Ukraine has been thrown back a hundred years, its energy sector is being destroyed, and Ukrainians who have left "may never return." Rubio also said that "someone will have to pay for all this reconstruction after the war."

As reported by OBOZ.UA, Zelensky said that any diplomatic talks with Putin are possible only after building a detailed, effective plan with partners. And without security guarantees, any agreement concluded with Russia will only be the beginning of future aggression, the president warned.

Keith Kellogg, the US President's Special Representative for Ukraine and Russia, said that Trump's team is working on a plan that would help end the war "in months, not years." At the same time, they plan to put pressure "on both Ukraine and Russia."

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