For two consecutive nights, the air raid warnings that normally give Kyiv residents precious time to seek shelter came only after Russian ballistic missiles were already approaching or striking the Ukrainian capital.
On Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 12–13, Russia launched successive ballistic missile attacks, striking civilian infrastructure and a major power plant. Ukraine received no advance warning of the launches from Western partners, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
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The second attack hit Kyiv’s CHP-4 thermal power plant and a nine-story residential building, killing at least two people and injuring 21, including a child.
Zelensky described Monday’s attack as “particularly vile,” saying five Russian ballistic missiles had struck civilian infrastructure in Kyiv without advance warning from Ukraine’s partners.
“Unfortunately, we received no early warning from our partners about this strike,” Zelensky said Tuesday, Oct. 13.
“Advance intelligence on Russian ballistic missile launches is critical to saving lives. Early warnings give people time to seek shelter and help prevent casualties.”
In his evening address, Zelensky revealed that Ukrainian forces had detected the five missiles only seconds before impact.
“Normally, we receive advance warnings from our partners, which are crucial for our defense,” Zelensky said, stressing that intelligence sharing helps Ukraine protect civilians and prevent Russian killings.
However, Zelensky did not specify which partner had failed to provide the warnings, nor did he explicitly accuse Washington of deliberately withholding intelligence.
The consequences were immediate for civilians.
A Kyiv Post journalist recounted how a friend, unaware of the incoming missiles, was walking her dog on Kyiv’s left bank when the attack began.
“The explosions were so loud that she was terrified,” the journalist said.
The intelligence question – a technical failure or political pressure?
The missing warnings come at an especially sensitive moment in US-Ukrainian relations.
According to an Axios report published Oct. 9, citing a Ukrainian official, US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner warned during negotiations in Miami that Washington could suspend intelligence sharing if Kyiv continued striking Russian oil refineries.
However, a US official denied that such a threat had been made, saying Washington remained a strong partner providing Ukraine with intelligence and weapons.
President Donald Trump rejected suggestions that Washington had stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine.
“We are helping them, and we are sharing intel,” Trump told reporters Tuesday, Oct. 13, adding that Washington was working with both Kyiv and Moscow to end the war.
Yet Trump’s assurances have not resolved the central question: why did Ukraine go two consecutive nights without the early missile warnings it normally receives from its Western partners?
The Trump administration’s response was less definitive when the question reached the White House briefing room on Tuesday.
Katie Zacharia, Trump’s newly appointed press secretary, was asked directly by Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy whether the US had stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine.
“I’ll have to get back to you on that,” she replied during her first briefing.
Trump’s Russian diesel deal adds to questions
The intelligence concerns emerged just days after Trump reached an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to ease restrictions on Russian diesel exports.
On Oct. 9, the US Treasury Department issued General License 135, authorizing transactions involving the sale, delivery and importation of Russian-origin diesel fuel.
The temporary sanctions relief followed Trump’s agreement with Putin to release Russian diesel supplies onto international markets in an effort to ease rising fuel prices.
The decision has drawn criticism from lawmakers in Washington, who warn that renewed Russian energy revenues could help finance Moscow’s war against Ukraine.
Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.