US threatens intelligence cutoff as Russia bombards Kharkiv
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that Ukraine received no advance warning from its Western partners before Monday’s Russian ballistic missile strike on Kyiv, an attack he described as “particularly vile.” Five missiles hit civilian infrastructure in the capital, according to the Ukrainian president, who stressed that receiving intelligence from allied partners “helps save lives, and this is one of the most critical issues.”
“This is precisely what helps prevent people from being killed — when there is an early warning about ballistic missiles,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media. He did not apportion blame for the absence of warning, calling it unfortunate.
The comments come against a backdrop of explicit US threats to halt intelligence cooperation. Over the weekend, American officials told their Ukrainian counterparts that the Trump administration was on the brink of suspending intelligence sharing with Kyiv, according to reporting cited by The Guardian. Speaking in Warsaw, Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, indicated that cooperation was continuing and said the lack of warning over the Kyiv attack was due to a “special type” of Russian weaponry.
The US-Ukrainian friction extends well beyond intelligence. President Trump has demanded that Ukraine stop attacking Russian oil refineries and has publicly blamed Zelenskyy for a rise in US fuel prices. On Friday, Trump announced a deal with Vladimir Putin to import diesel from Russia, dropping previous US sanctions. On Sunday, Trump claimed that Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to an “energy ceasefire” — an announcement Zelenskyy called “news to me.”
Ukraine’s president said on Tuesday that the Ukrainian military had not struck Russian oil refineries or energy facilities in the two days following Trump’s Sunday announcement, but that the Kremlin had ignored the supposed ceasefire and continued to bomb Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as before, with multiple attacks. “Russia did not heed the president … The Russians sent absolutely clear signals that they have no intention of refraining from strikes,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukrainian commanders have said that American intelligence is not needed to identify targets for deep strikes on Russia, noting that oil refineries are marked on Google Maps. But they have stressed that US intelligence plays a crucial role in warning of Russian ballistic missile launches and in detecting the takeoff of long-range bomber aircraft. In recent months, Russia has stepped up its bombardment of Ukrainian towns and cities, and Ukraine has struggled to shoot down incoming missiles and jet-powered drones and has appealed to partners to boost its dwindling supplies of US-made Patriot interceptors.
The Financial Times reported that the Trump administration has also threatened to suspend the procurement scheme under which Ukraine’s European allies buy advanced US systems, which are then transferred to Kyiv, including badly needed Patriots. Putin’s apparent goal in the Kremlin’s systematic campaign against Ukraine’s power grid is to shut off heating and electricity for millions of civilians this winter, and to trigger a new wave of refugees into neighboring EU states.
The human toll of the escalation was visible in Kharkiv, where on Monday Russian bombardment destroyed a residential building. Sharing footage from the scene, Zelenskyy said four people had been killed and 41 injured, and that rescuers spent the entire night searching for people trapped under the rubble.
The row between Washington and Kyiv is the most serious since last year, when Trump threw Zelenskyy out of the White House. Ukraine’s president has said he is willing to stop striking Russian oil refineries — but only on a reciprocal basis and with “real guarantees” that Moscow will halt its own attacks on Ukrainian energy sites.
“Direct or indirect support for Russia, delaying aid to Ukraine, and complicating protection of lives from ballistics — this is what will definitely not work for peace,” Zelenskyy said on Tuesday. “A strong America, a strong Europe, strong partners are needed.”