US Marks Russia Day for First Time Since Invasion of Ukraine

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(Bloomberg) -- The US State Department congratulated Russia on its national holiday for the first time since the start of the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine and reaffirmed that Washington will remain engaged in efforts to end the war.

“The United States remains committed to supporting the Russian people as they continue to build on their aspirations for a brighter future,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement on his agency’s website on Thursday. He also said the US wished for “constructive engagement” with Russia to bring about “a durable peace” between Moscow and Kyiv.

Rubio’s statement marks a break from the previous administration, which had held off congratulating Russia on the holiday since the start of the February 2022 invasion, underscoring the dramatic shift in policy toward Moscow that has occurred since President Donald Trump took office.

The Kremlin welcomed the State Department’s congratulatory statement. “This is very positive news,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state television. It demonstrates “the administration is still in favor of dialog to resolve the most difficult issues.”

In 2024, the US used the occasion to announce a new round of sanctions on Russia, saying the country continued “to stand in solidarity with Ukrainians defending their homeland.”

When Trump took office, he pledged to end the war within 100 days, but his efforts have stalled since then. Earlier this month, he said it might be necessary to let Russia and Ukraine “fight for a little while” before brokering a peace deal and suggested he might be willing to implement fresh sanctions on both countries if he determined the conflict wasn’t going to end.