AZE.US
KYIV, Ukraine - Ukraine received no early warning from its partners before five Russian ballistic missiles struck civilian infrastructure in Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday, raising questions about the reliability of a system that gives civilians and air defenses crucial minutes to react.
Zelenskyy said in a social-media post that intelligence about ballistic-missile launches helps save lives and called advance notice “one of the most critical issues.” He did not blame a specific country for the absence of a warning.
The United States has not stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine, President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House. “We are helping them, and we are sharing intel,” Trump said, according to The Associated Press.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also said intelligence cooperation was continuing and suggested the delay could have been connected to the type of weapons Russia used. A senior Ukrainian official told AP that the failure had been described as a possible technical or circumstantial problem, including weather, rather than a deliberate decision.
Ballistic Missiles Leave Little Time to React
American space-based infrared systems can detect Russian ballistic-missile launches quickly, allowing Ukraine to sound public alerts and prepare air defenses. Russia’s short-range Iskander ballistic missiles can reach targets in Ukraine within minutes, making prompt external warning especially important.
Zelenskyy said Russia had used more than 100 aerial weapons against Ukraine since Monday evening. The figure was provided by Ukrainian authorities and could not be independently verified.
In Kharkiv, a Russian strike destroyed a residential building, killing four people after an overnight rescue effort, Ukrainian officials said. Forty-one people were wounded in the city. Other attacks killed one person in the Kyiv region and injured people in Kyiv, Rivne and near Lviv, according to local authorities.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces had carried out coordinated strikes against military-industrial facilities, logistics centers, railways, port infrastructure and vessels allegedly involved in transporting military cargo. Moscow routinely denies intentionally targeting civilians despite extensive damage to homes and public infrastructure.
Energy Ceasefire Claims Under Scrutiny
The attacks came after Trump said Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an “energy ceasefire” under which both sides would refrain from attacking energy infrastructure. Russia has not publicly confirmed that an agreement exists. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said only that contacts on the issue were continuing.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine had not attacked Russian oil refineries or other energy facilities during the two days after Trump announced the purported arrangement. He accused Moscow of continuing to target Ukrainian energy and critical infrastructure.
Later Tuesday, another Russian missile attack struck energy targets in Kyiv. Zelenskyy again said Ukraine had received no advance warning from its partners and identified a thermal power plant as the main target, Reuters reported.
The absence of timely alerts does not establish that intelligence sharing has been suspended. But it highlights Ukraine’s continuing dependence on U.S. detection systems as Russian forces intensify missile and drone attacks ahead of winter.
Source: Vesti Baku