US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that a software glitch affected Ukraine's early warning system a few nights ago. According to him, the technical problem is being dealt with by the US European Command.
„There was a software glitch in Ukraine's early warning system a few nights ago. The US European Command is currently dealing with it. I cannot comment on what happened last night“, Rubio said.
Thus, the Secretary of State did not confirm that this problem led to the lack of warning before the Russian ballistic missile strike on Kiev on the night of October 19. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the country had again not received advance information from its partners.
Discrepancy between Washington and Kiev
Zelensky also claimed that Ukraine had been without US intelligence information about Russian ballistic missile attacks for three days. Rubio rejected this claim and said that the exchange had not been interrupted.
„I don't know where he gets this information from and why he's telling the press. There was no pause“, Rubio said.The US Secretary of State added that Zelensky should focus on ending the war. The Ukrainian president, for his part, insists that the lack of warning is particularly serious, since US intelligence usually helps Kiev detect the launch of Russian ballistic missiles.
According to „Ukrainska Pravda“ The Ukrainian Air Force received data before the second wave of strikes, but not before the first. Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ignat said that the reasons are being clarified together with partners and that such a situation is not the first time.
One killed, eight injured in Kiev
One person was killed and eight were injured in the night attack in the Ukrainian capital. Damage was inflicted in three districts, affecting residential high-rise buildings and a metro station.
The Chernihivska and Lysova stations were temporarily closed due to the damage. According to data cited by the Associated Press, Russia fired 16 ballistic missiles at Kiev and the area around the capital. The strikes were part of a larger attack on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Reuters reports that the Russian attack also included more than 200 drones targeting various parts of Ukraine. The agency quotes the Ukrainian president as saying that more than 10 energy facilities were damaged.
So far, there has been no public explanation from the US side whether the software problem has been fixed and whether it affected the specific attack on Kiev. Rubio only indicated that the US European Command is working on the case.
Sources: focus-news.net, apnews.com, investing.com