The Russia Day holiday marks the country's 1990 declaration of sovereignty, more than a year before the collapse of the Soviet Union.

He called Rubio’s move a gesture of support for the aggressor state. Read also: U.S. greets Russia on holiday for first time since full-scale invasion “Marco Rubio today congratulated the Russian people who elected and support the greatest criminal of the world,

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated the Russian people on June 12, Russia's National Day, and expressed a desire for "constructive engagement" to bring peace to Ukraine. "On behalf of the American people,