Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that Ukraine received no early warning from its Western partners before Russian ballistic missiles struck Kyiv, sharpening questions about the state of US-Ukraine intelligence sharing.
Five missiles, no air-raid alert: what happened Monday night
The first blow came on the evening of October 12. Zelenskyy said five Russian ballistic missiles hit civilian infrastructure in Kyiv, detected only as they were already approaching the city. Residents heard explosions shortly after 10 p.m. — and the air-raid alert sounded only after the blasts. Ukraine's Air Force said the assault included five Iskander-M/S-400 ballistic missiles, nine loitering munitions and 108 Shahed-type and decoy drones; a residential building in Kharkiv was destroyed, killing four and injuring 41.
"Intelligence on Russian ballistic missile launches helps save lives, and this is one of the most critical issues." — Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on X, after calling Monday's barrage on Kyiv "particularly vile"
A second strike hit Kyiv's main power plant
At 10:40 p.m. on Tuesday, October 13, Russia struck Kyiv again — hitting CHP-4, one of the capital's largest power plants, directly. For the second consecutive night, Ukraine received no warning of the launches from its partners.
"Once again, no early warning from our partners," Zelenskyy wrote on Facebook, calling it "absolutely unjust." A nine-story apartment building in the Desnianskyi district was also hit, killing one person and wounding around 20, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Overnight into Wednesday, Russia launched its heaviest barrage yet: 39 ballistic missiles and more than 120 drones at Kyiv and Kharkiv. At least six people were killed and 600,000-plus left without power. Russia's defense ministry described the operation as a "massive" strike on communications and energy infrastructure.
Why the missing warnings matter: US intelligence under pressure
Ukraine relies heavily on US intelligence to detect incoming Russian attacks — satellite and sensor data that spot launcher movements and track trajectories, giving cities precious minutes to sound alerts. That is why Zelenskyy's complaint landed with such force.
Trump insisted Tuesday that Washington continues to share intelligence: "We are helping them, and we are sharing intel." But Reuters, CNN and the Financial Times have reported US officials threatened to restrict weapons and intelligence sharing unless Ukraine stops striking Russian oil refineries.
Zelenskyy stopped short of linking the missing warnings to US threats, and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Kyiv is still receiving US intelligence — attributing the delay to a "special type of weaponry" Russia used. Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said specialists would examine the incident with international partners; the United States did briefly halt sharing once before, in March 2025, after the televised Oval Office meeting with Zelenskyy.
Trump's 'energy ceasefire' in tatters
The strikes also shredded the "energy ceasefire" Trump announced on Sunday, October 11. Kyiv said it was caught off guard by the announcement and Moscow never confirmed it — though Zelenskyy later backed a reciprocal halt and said Ukraine had not targeted Russian refineries since Sunday. Russia, he said, kept attacking and showed unprecedented disrespect toward the United States by deliberately striking the very energy infrastructure covered by the ceasefire.
The takeaway: twice in three days, Ukrainian air defenses saw incoming ballistic missiles only as they bore down on the capital — and the reason, technical glitch or political signal, is now under joint review with partners. With winter approaching, early warning of ballistic launches remains one of the most fragile links in Ukraine's defense.
Music in this post's reel: Kevin MacLeod - Lightless Dawn (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 3.0
Sources: Al Jazeera: 'Massive' Russian attack on Ukraine kills at least six, damages power sites, CNN: Allies gave Ukraine no warning of impending missile attack, Zelensky says, Hromadske: Ukraine received no advance warning from partners before Russian ballistic strike on Kyiv, Zelenskyy says, Reuters: Russian missile attack on Kyiv kills one