Ukraine Says Allies Gave No Warning Before Russian Strikes on Kyiv Power Plants
Ukraine says it received no warning from partners before Russian ballistic missiles struck power plants in Kyiv late on Sunday, a claim the United States has answered with an account of a technical failure.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yuri Ihnat said on television on Monday morning that there was no warning before a barrage that hit power plants in Kyiv at around 11pm. He said Ukraine did receive a warning before a successive strike at 3am. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote in a social media post on Monday morning that Russia had launched a ballistic missile attack in multiple waves throughout the night with no warning from partners, according to The Guardian.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine was not warned before Russian missile launches on at least three days in the past week. He accused Washington of "denial of reality" over the lack of warning. Ukraine has said it was not warned about the Russian missile attack on Sunday evening.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said early Monday in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, that a few nights ago there was a software problem involving the early warning system. He said the U.S. military's European Command was looking into the strikes. Rubio said U.S. intelligence sharing with Ukraine never paused, according to Times of India.
The Ukrainian Air Force is investigating the missing partner warning ahead of the strikes, according to Ukrainska Pravda. In at least one case, Ukrainian officials had been told that bad weather over southern Russia had obscured preparations for a missile launch.
The main target of the Russian missile attack on Kyiv was energy infrastructure, and a strike hit a thermal power plant in Kyiv, Reuters reported. Zelenskyy said a strike hit the grounds of an energy facility described as one of Kyiv's main facilities. He discussed the strike with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
On October 18, Zelenskyy said Russia had attacked the Ukrainian energy sector 76 times in the past week, according to Reuters. More missiles struck Kyiv late Tuesday, targeting energy systems, AP reported.
The dispute over warnings has unfolded alongside friction over weapons and sanctions. President Donald Trump waived a sweeping sanctions package on Russia on Friday, telling Congress the pause was in the national interest. Ukraine has complained of slowed U.S. deliveries of PAC-3 air defence missiles and said U.S. weapons delivered through the PURL scheme, under which Europe purchases U.S. weapons for Ukraine, have been delayed.
