Ukraine slips in U.S. priorities as Iran consumes Trump focus

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that Ukraine has fallen behind Iran on Washington's policy agenda as the Trump administration's diplomatic energy shifts to the Middle East, The Korea Times reported.

The shift in U.S. attention threatens to deepen the diplomatic stalemate, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledging in nearly 10 hours of congressional testimony that peace talks have been "unfruitful" and that neither Moscow nor Kyiv has shown willingness to make the concessions needed to end the war.

Speaking alongside NATO Chief Mark Rutte during a visit to Kyiv on Wednesday, Zelensky described Ukraine's diminished standing in Washington. "Today we are not in focus. Iran is the number one issue for the United States of America, and then comes the issue of Ukraine. Unfortunately, we are in the queue of these wars," he said, according to The Korea Times.

Rubio, in nearly 10 hours of testimony before congressional committees, said peace efforts have hit a wall. "Unfortunately... neither side has been willing to make concessions, particularly on the Russian side, necessary in order to bring peace about," Rubio told the House Foreign Affairs Committee, The Korea Times reported. "We think the war in Ukraine, devastating war, has no military solution, it can only be solved through a diplomatic route — and it's been unfruitful," he added.

Trump's shuttle diplomacy has produced only short-lived ceasefires and prisoner exchanges, with Moscow and Kyiv far apart on territory, security guarantees and sanctions relief, The Korea Times reported. Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have visited Moscow but have never traveled to Kyiv. The latest Russian aerial assault killed 23 people across Ukraine, even as Ukrainian drones struck oil and military facilities in Saint Petersburg during an economic forum.

Elina Beketova, a fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, said Russia has shown little genuine interest in talks. "The recent strikes on Ukraine indicate that Russia is not ready to de-escalate. A window for negotiations may open only if the battlefield situation shifts — if Ukraine strengthens its position as a resilient 'fortress state' and Russia becomes significantly exhausted both militarily and economically," she told The Korea Times.

Michael Kimmage, director of the Kennan Institute, warned the trajectory is troubling for U.S. influence. "That maybe is the important trend line, a trend line of declining relevance of the Trump administration to the conflict overall," Kimmage said, according to The Korea Times.

In a CBS interview last week, Zelensky pressed for a change in approach. "I think that we need to see (the) American negotiation group in Ukraine. First they have to come to Kyiv, and then go to Moscow," he said. After a call with European Council President Antonio Costa, Zelensky posted on Facebook: "We both agree that Europe must be involved in the negotiations. It is important for it to have a strong voice and presence in this process."

Rubio also cautioned the Senate Appropriations Committee that "the risk of escalation is real, more real than it was two years ago," underscoring the urgency even as U.S. diplomatic bandwidth remains divided between two major crises.