Kyiv faced a surprise attack from Russia that included over 100 drones and five ballistic missiles. Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, announced this on Tuesday, stating: "Information about the launch of Russian ballistic missiles helps save lives, and this is one of the critical issues. This is exactly what helps prevent people from being killed — when there is early warning about ballistic missiles."
No Warning from International Partners
Zelensky added: "Unfortunately, we did not receive any warning from partners regarding this attack." Typically, Kyiv receives alerts about Russian missile launches through a battle command and control system, which is under the control of U.S. military and NATO members.
However, Andriy Sybiha, Ukraine's Foreign Minister, said on Tuesday at the Warsaw Security Forum that information exchange through this platform is still ongoing. An official familiar with the matter stated that the Americans informed the Ukrainians that no warning occurred due to bad weather conditions, which is considered an inadequate reason in Kyiv.
Concerns Over Warning System Malfunction
This missile warning system has previously experienced disruptions. Yuriy Ihnat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, said on Tuesday: "At times, this information is not transmitted correctly. This is not the first time... If there are specific technical problems, I believe specialists will resolve them. They will address this issue with our partners."
Reports indicate that the United States threatened last week to cut off information exchange again if Ukraine did not stop attacks on Russian oil refineries. Zelensky did not publicly confirm this threat but has since retreated from it.
Zelensky stated: "In the past two days since the announcement of the energy ceasefire by the U.S. President, Ukraine has not attacked any Russian oil refineries or the energy sector in general. However, Russia has not paid attention to the U.S. President." He urged the United States to take the lead in peace negotiations.
Russian Attacks and Response to Ceasefire
Zelensky added: "Russia has attacked both our energy facilities and critical infrastructure, sending very clear signals that it has no intention of refraining from attacks on Ukraine. Nineteen regions of our country have been attacked in just these two days."
Donald Trump, the President of the United States, claimed on Monday that both Russia and Ukraine have agreed to an energy ceasefire because he said so — "and if it is violated, both have violated it." He added: "In fact, Vladimir Putin wants to agree, and we need to convince Zelensky to want to agree."
Russia has not yet responded to the missile attacks but has issued a general statement declaring that it targets military and weapons production facilities across Ukraine. However, Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, said on Monday that Zelensky does not deserve a halt in hostilities in response to the energy ceasefire: "I don't think he deserves a break. I don't think we should buy guarantees and promises again."
