Russia warns U.S. against Ukraine arms sales in Manila meeting

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned Washington against making “unacceptable” arms deliveries to Ukraine during a Thursday (July 23, 2026) meeting in Manila with U.S. counterpart Marco Rubio, Moscow said.

Mr. Lavrov and Mr. Rubio’s meeting on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian summit, their first since September 2025, came as Washington’s focus has switched from mediating in Ukraine to dealing with war in the West Asia.

Mr. Lavrov told the U.S. Secretary of State, “It was unacceptable to continue supplying weapons to the Kyiv regime”, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Following the half-hour meeting, Mr. Rubio told reporters the two men had “a good conversation, a frank conversation”, without disclosing details.

Asked about the arms deliveries referenced by Moscow, Mr. Rubio replied: “We sell weapons through PURL… There has been no change in our policy in this regard.”

Launched last year, the PURL initiative allows Ukraine to receive U.S. equipment purchased by the Washington’s NATO allies.

Mr. Rubio said his government hoped to play a constructive role in bringing an end to the fighting.

“We want a peace deal. We want the war to end,” Mr. Rubio told reporters, adding it would take “something that both Russia and Ukraine can agree to”.

“That’s going to require a lot of work.”

Lavrov, meanwhile, reiterated that the Russian side was ready for a “political-diplomatic resolution to the conflict”, according to Moscow’s statement.

Shortly before the two men met, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had spoken with US envoys in a bid to revive stalled talks aimed at ending the years-long war.

“I just spoke with President Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. It was a good, important conversation on how to reinvigorate diplomacy and bring peace closer,” Mr. Zelensky said in a post on X.

US President Donald Trump has voiced support for Ukraine’s campaign of long-range drone strikes targeting Russian energy infrastructure, saying it could “help bring about an end” to the conflict.

In recent months, Kyiv has appeared to stall Moscow’s grinding offensive and has substantially expanded its drone strikes against Russia, disrupting ordinary life there in the war’s fifth year.

Moscow has meanwhile escalated its deadly missile strikes against Kyiv, launching dozens of hard-to-intercept rounds as Ukraine struggles with depleted air defence stocks.

On Thursday (July 23), Russian airstrikes killed three people in eastern Ukraine, while four others were killed in Ukrainian attacks in Russia and annexed Crimea, according to authorities in the affected regions.

Mr. Rubio and Lavrov also discussed the conflict in West Asia on Thursday (July 23), according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.Moscow has condemned Washington’s recent strikes on its Iranian ally.