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Zelenskyy Criticizes Lack of Early Warning on Russian Strikes
· Confirmed
In Short: Zelenskyy did not specify which partners he was talking about, but noted that the lack of early warning was described as a 'failure' by a senior Ukrainian official.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv received no early warning from partner countries before Russian missile attacks on Monday, which killed at least one person and left over half a million homes without power.
According to Zelenskyy, Russia launched 16 ballistic missiles targeting Ukraine's energy facilities, with 10 hitting their targets and causing widespread power outages.
Zelenskyy noted that the attacks damaged more than 10 energy infrastructure facilities, leaving over half a million people without power, heat, and running water.
The attacks also included more than 200 drones, including jet-powered Shaheds, according to RBC-Ukraine.
Zelenskyy accused Washington of 'denial of reality' in an ongoing row with Trump over apparent support for Moscow, suggesting that blocking missile supplies for Ukrainian air defense and providing sanctions relief to Russia is detrimental.
He emphasized that advance intelligence is critical to saving civilian lives given the extremely short flight time of the missiles.
Zelenskyy stated that the attacks on October 13 hit Combined Heat and Power Plant No. 4 (CHPP-4), one of Kyiv’s key sources of electricity and heating.
Zelenskyy said Russia had attacked Ukraine with more than 100 weapons since Monday evening, including over 39 ballistic missiles and more than 120 attack drones and loitering munitions.
Zelenskyy did not specify which partners he was talking about, but noted that the lack of early warning was described as a 'failure' by a senior Ukrainian official.
The Guardian reported that Zelenskyy urged the United States to see 'what is happening and who is responsible for this war continuing.'
Zelenskyy also noted that Kyiv had not struck Russian oil refineries or other energy sites in the two days since Trump announced a purported deal.
Trump said the U.S. has not stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine, but Zelenskyy remains critical of the lack of early warning.
What's confirmed
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram that Russia had launched 16 ballistic missiles, targeting Ukraine's energy facilities, 10 of which were hit, cutting power to some 550,000 households.
- Zelenskyy is grappling with recent Washington moves benefiting Russian President Vladimir Putin, including waiving U.S. sanctions on Moscow and signing a deal to import diesel from Moscow.
- He noted Monday that Kyiv received no early warning from partner countries.
- The attacks damaged over 10 energy facilities, leaving more than half a million people without power, heat and running water.
- READ MORE: Zelenskyy urges support for new U.S. sanctions on Russia put on hold by Trump In parallel, limits on Ukraine's use of the military-grade version of U.S. company SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service have choked Ukrainian drone operations, according to Zelenskyy.
- Hanna Arhirova, Associated Press Hanna Arhirova, Associated Press Justin Spike, Associated Press Justin Spike, Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine received no early warning from its partners about five Russian ballistic missiles that hit civilian infrastructure in the capital of Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday, as tensions rise between the Ukrainian leader and U.S. President Donald Trump.
- In addition to the four deaths in the apartment building in Kharkiv, 41 people were wounded in the city in one evening alone, Zelenskyy said.
- "This is precisely what helps prevent people from being killed — when there is an early warning about ballistic missiles,” he wrote.
- Zelenskyy said Russia had attacked Ukraine with more than 100 weapons since Monday evening.
- Russia's war in Ukraine has not seen major shifts on the ground since last year, but Ukraine is struggling to fend off Moscow's intensified aerial attacks that include speedy ballistic missiles and high-flying jet-powered drones.
- Zelenskyy did not specify which partners he was talking about.
- Zelenskyy on Tuesday said Ukraine had not struck Russian oil refineries or other energy sites in the two days since Trump announced the purported deal.
What's still developing
- “When the supply of missiles for Ukrainian air defence is blocked, and Russia receives sanctions relief or delays, it is, unfortunately, a denial of reality on the part of our partners,” the president added.
- "They again targeted energy facilities and infrastructure, but a medical clinic, a school, a metro station, and ordinary residential buildings were also damaged," Zelenskyy said, adding that more than 10 energy facilities were damaged across 11 regions.
- Ukraine said in early September that it was accelerating development of high-speed interceptors designed specifically to counter jet-powered Shahed-type attack drones.
- “It is a pity we are losing … a strong partner,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told journalist Piers Morgan, speaking of the US.
- The leaders signed an agreement to work toward a “hundred-year partnership”.
- “It is important that the world does not stay silent about this,” he posted on X.