Zelenskyy says Ukraine got no warning before Kyiv missile strike, as US insists intel sharing continues

Five Russian ballistic missiles struck civilian infrastructure in Kyiv on Monday night without any advance warning reaching Ukraine from its Western partners — a failure that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called 'particularly vile' and that landed at the worst possible moment: days after the United States threatened to cut intelligence sharing with Kyiv entirely.

Intelligence data on the launch of Russian ballistic missiles 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.— Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine

Regarding this strike, unfortunately, there was no warning from partners.— Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine

Zelenskyy stopped short of naming any party responsible for the failure, and left unspecified which partners he had expected to provide advance notice. The timing, however, was hard to set aside: just days earlier, US officials had warned their Ukrainian counterparts that the Trump administration was close to cutting off intelligence sharing unless Kyiv halted attacks on Russian oil refineries, according to The Guardian.

By Tuesday, however, President Donald Trump flatly denied that sharing had been cut.

We are helping them, and we are sharing intel. We want the war to end, so we're working with them and Russia on getting the war to end.— Donald Trump, US President

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, speaking at the Warsaw Security Forum, backed that account, confirming that intelligence cooperation with the US is continuing. He attributed the missed warning to the 'special type' of Russian weaponry used in the Kyiv strike, according to The Guardian and Kyiv Post.

Kyiv normally receives tip-offs about incoming Russian missiles through the Battlespace Command and Control Center system, operated by the US military and NATO members, according to Politico. But the system has failed before. Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ignat said Tuesday that lapses of this kind have occurred in the past.

At times this information doesn't get through. This isn't the first instance … If there were specific technical issues this time, I think the specialists will sort it out. And they will resolve this problem together with our partners.— Yurii Ignat, Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson

According to Politico, an official with knowledge of the situation, speaking on condition of anonymity, said US counterparts attributed the missing warning to bad weather — a reason Ukrainian officials considered insufficient. "Thus many are getting increasingly worried this might not have been the case," the official said.

The Monday night attack involved more than 100 weapons in total — jet-powered drones, loitering munitions, and the five ballistic missiles that hit Kyiv, Zelenskyy said. The same night, a Russian strike destroyed a residential building in Kharkiv, killing four people and wounding 41. Rescue workers searched through the night for survivors trapped in the rubble.

The strikes came despite what Trump had announced on Sunday as an 'energy ceasefire' — a claim Zelenskyy described as 'news to me.' Ukraine's president said his forces had not struck Russian oil refineries or energy facilities in the two days since Trump's announcement, but that Russia had continued attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure across 19 regions regardless.

Russia did not heed the president … the Russians sent absolutely clear signals that they have no intention of refraining from strikes.— Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was direct about Moscow's position on any pause, saying Monday, in reference to Zelenskyy, "I don't think that he deserves a break. I don't think that we will buy assurances and promises again," according to Politico.

Trump, for his part, said both sides had violated the energy ceasefire. Addressing reporters, he said, "Actually [Putin] wants to make a deal, and we have to get Zelenskyy to want to make a deal," according to Politico.

According to The Guardian, Ukrainian commanders have said that American intelligence is not required to locate targets for deep strikes inside Russia — oil refineries are visible on Google Maps — but that it is essential for alerting Ukraine to Russian ballistic missile launches and the departure of long-range bomber aircraft. That distinction matters: the debate over intelligence sharing is less about offensive operations than about whether Ukrainian civilians get time to take shelter.

According to the Financial Times, the Trump administration has also threatened to cut off a procurement arrangement under which Ukraine's European partners purchase advanced US weapons systems — among them Patriot missiles — for delivery to Kyiv.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine is prepared to cease strikes on Russian oil refineries, though only if the arrangement is mutual and backed by "real guarantees" that Moscow will stop targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure in return. He added: "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."

In a separate incident, a drone strike sank a vessel off the Bulgarian coast, leaving 11 sailors unaccounted for. Bulgarian officials said two cargo ships were struck during the night and one went down. Bulgaria summoned Russia's ambassador; Prime Minister Rumen Radev said the outcome "benefits the Russian Federation," though Bulgaria stopped short of explicitly accusing Russia.

The current row between Washington and Kyiv is described by The Guardian as the most serious since Trump ejected Zelenskyy from the White House last year. Whether Monday's warning failure was a technical malfunction, a weather-related gap, or something else remains under investigation — and unresolved.

Why it matters — Whether the warning gap was a technical failure or a sign of fraying US-Ukraine intelligence cooperation, the result was the same: five missiles hit Kyiv with no time for civilians to shelter — and the question of whether that happens again depends on a relationship now under serious strain.

Sources differ on Whether the energy ceasefire was agreed to by both sides: Trump said both Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an energy ceasefire. (politico.eu) vs Zelenskyy said the ceasefire announcement was 'news to me' and that Russia continued striking Ukrainian energy infrastructure. (theguardian.com)

Sources differ on Reason for the missed missile warning: Foreign Minister Sybiha attributed it to the 'special type' of Russian weaponry used. (theguardian.com) vs An anonymous official said Americans cited bad weather conditions as the reason. (politico.eu)

Reported by pbs.org, politico.eu, kyivpost.com, theguardian.com, ft.com