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WASHINGTON — President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed that US intelligence sharing with Ukraine is back on after a blackout left the country blind to incoming Russian attacks.
Zelensky expressed gratitude that the lull in intelligence sharing, which lasted about three days and undermined Ukraine’s ability to prepare for the attacks, has since ended.
“It was blocked for some period of time. And then it was de-blocked by the American side. We are very thankful for this. Now it works,” Zelensky told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” in a prerecorded interview that aired Sunday.
“We didn’t see attacks of Russia using ballistic missiles,” Zelensky explained. “We have dozens of countries who help. But only United States has this unique intelligence to tell our side when Russia uses ballistic missiles. And we didn’t get it during ballistic attacks during three days.”
Ukraine has made remarkable advancements in its ability to both combat Russian drones and carry out drone attacks of its own.
But it has long struggled to counter Russian ballistic missiles, particularly due to a shortage of Patriot interceptors, which reportedly ran out recently.
The pause in intelligence sharing came amid a feud between Kyiv and Washington over Ukraine’s attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure, which President Trump has blamed for rising diesel prices, something that has given him headaches in the midterms.
Last week, Trump declared an energy ceasefire in Ukraine, which caught Kyiv by surprise. Ukraine claimed it halted attacks on Russian energy targets for several days in response. But because Russia continued to bombard its energy sites, Ukraine resumed those attacks.
“If you tell me that Zelensky is again shooting at refineries, all he’s doing is making the world oil price higher,” Trump vented to Newsmax host Rob Finnerty on Thursday. “I think that’s a disgrace. There’s plenty of other targets.”
In addition to the alleged intelligence blackout, Ukraine also claimed that its access to a military version of Starlink was throttled, which limited its ability to intercept drone attacks and carry out drone strikes on Russia.
There are conflicting claims of who ordered the throttling of Ukraine’s access to that satellite internet system and whether or not it has been fully restored.
When asked about why Trump appears to have kinder words to say about Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin than himself, Zelensky reflected that it may be related to his bluntness.
“I’m very honest with the President of the United States, and very clear, and very supportive of America because we are strategic partners,” he said. “He’s [Putin] a killer.”
“That’s why I’m very honest and open to say that he’s a killer,” he added. “But I’m better to have partners who are very open and clear than to have those who are killers, even with a smile on their face.”