US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied Monday that Washington had suspended intelligence sharing with Ukraine, pushing back against Kyiv’s account of a three-day pause as President Donald Trump ramps up pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to end Russia’s war.
“There has been no pause,” Rubio told reporters while visiting Uzbekistan, according to AFP, responding to claims that the US had temporarily stopped providing intelligence used to help Ukraine counter Russian missile attacks.
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Zelensky said Sunday that the suspension had been “deblocked by the American side” after three days.
But questions over early warnings of Russian attacks remain. Alex Raufoglu reported that Ukrainian sources said there had been no early warning of the ballistic threat during Russia’s overnight attack on Kyiv early Monday.
A Kyiv Post correspondent in the capital’s Solomianskyi district also reported hearing explosions before the air raid alert sounded, with the warning coming only a couple of minutes after the blasts.
Rubio said Trump wanted both Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin to focus on ending the war, now in its fifth year.
“What he (Zelensky) should be focused on and what we want to be focused on is bringing an end to this war,” Rubio said.
“That’s what we want everybody to be focused on. That’s what we want the Russians to be focused on,” he added, saying ending the war was a priority for Trump.
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The latest reported gap in intelligence sharing comes amid tensions over Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil refineries.
The dispute comes as Trump has stepped up criticism of Zelensky while pursuing a deal with Moscow to secure fuel exports in exchange for easing sanctions.
In a Sunday post on Truth Social, Trump claimed he was making “great progress” toward a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine but accused Zelensky of having no interest in ending the conflict.
“Zelensky doesn’t care, and frankly, with all of the money that Europe is famously giving him... he doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did,” Trump wrote.
Trump also attacked Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil refineries, claiming they were damaging global diesel markets, including in the United States.
“Zelensky is using Diesel Refineries in Russia as a target, knowing that these attacks are seriously hurting the world diesel markets, including those in the United States,” he said.
Energy strikes and gaps in early warning
Advance intelligence from the United States has helped Ukraine prepare for Russian ballistic missile attacks, giving air defense units time to respond and civilians a chance to reach shelter.
The reported intelligence-sharing restrictions emerged amid growing tensions between Washington and Kyiv over Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure and efforts to negotiate an energy ceasefire.
On Oct. 15, The Washington Post reported that US intelligence officials had warned Kyiv that Washington would immediately stop sharing intelligence if Ukraine continued striking Russian oil refineries and petrochemical plants.
The warning was delivered to Ukraine’s embassy in Washington as the Trump administration pressed both sides over an “energy ceasefire” announced by US President Donald Trump.
Washington had also threatened to cut intelligence cooperation and block European countries from buying US weapons for Ukraine if Kyiv continued its deep strikes against Russian energy targets.
US officials cited by The Washington Post disputed claims that intelligence sharing had been entirely cut off, but acknowledged that access to certain intelligence feeds had been limited.
The restrictions reportedly coincided with a series of Russian ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv. Before the restoration of intelligence sharing, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine had received no advance warning from Western partners of launches on two successive nights.
The strikes damaged key energy infrastructure and disrupted electricity and water supplies in the capital.
Zelensky condemned the reported US pressure, describing it as an “attempt to force Ukraine into capitulation.”
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