Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kiev did not receive advance warning from its Western partners about the Russian strike with five ballistic missiles, which hit civilian infrastructure. He said that timely provision of intelligence about the launch of ballistic missiles is crucial for saving lives.
„There was also a rather sneaky ballistic missile strike on Kiev - five missiles that hit civilian infrastructure. "Unfortunately, there was no warning from the partners about this strike," Zelensky said.
According to the Ukrainian president, since the evening of October 12, Russian forces have used over 100 airstrikes against Ukraine, including jet drones, barrage munitions and ballistic missiles. He described intelligence on ballistic missile launches as one of the most critical elements of cooperation with allies.
Kiev claims Russia continued strikes
Zelensky's statement comes amid tensions between Kiev and Washington over US demands that Ukraine stop strikes on Russian energy infrastructure.
The Ukrainian president said that Ukrainian armed forces had not attacked Russian oil refineries or other energy facilities for two days after US President Donald Trump announced an energy truce. According to him, Russia did not comply with the proposed cessation of strikes and continued attacks on Ukrainian energy and critical facilities.
„Russia did not listen to the US president. During this time, the Russians attacked our energy facilities and our critical infrastructure and gave absolutely clear signals that they did not intend to refrain from strikes against Ukraine“, Zelensky said. He said that in these two days, Russian attacks had affected 19 regions of the country.
Intentional suppression of data not confirmed
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga confirmed that Kiev continues to receive intelligence information from the United States. „Are we receiving intelligence from the American side? "Yes, we continue this cooperation," he said at the Warsaw Security Forum.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry clarified that Sibiga's statement referred to intelligence cooperation in general, and not specifically to the missile strike on Kiev.
The Ukraine Context channel reported that Ukrainian services are investigating the reasons for the lack of warning. Two possibilities are being considered - that the partners deliberately did not provide the information or that the missile launch was not detected for technical reasons. So far, there is no official data confirming a deliberate withholding of intelligence information by the United States or other Western partners.
Zelensky said that Ukraine remains ready for mutual steps towards de-escalation, but insisted that the international community put real pressure on Moscow. “Wars end when the aggressor feels that he has no chance to prolong the war“, said the Ukrainian president.
Sources: news.bg