Zelensky: Kyiv got no warning from partners before missile strike

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed that Kyiv received no timely warning from its partners about the overnight ballistic strike by Russia on the capital. According to him, five missiles hit civilian infrastructure.

More than a hundred targets in one night

Zelensky wrote on X that since Monday evening Russia has launched more than a hundred weapons at Ukraine, from drones to ballistic missiles. A large share were shot down, but not all. In Kharkiv a residential building was hit, killing four people.

The president addressed the strike on Kyiv separately: not a single timely warning came from partners. “Intelligence on Russian ballistic missile launches helps save lives,” he stressed.

The alarm came too late

The Ukrainian air force was the first to report the missing data. According to its preliminary information, six ballistic missiles were fired at the capital at around 22:10. Radars detected the targets only at the moment of the attack, and there was no information about launches from enemy territory. Air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat first cautiously allowed for a technical fault, but Zelensky ruled out that version on Tuesday.

This confirmed the rumors circulating on social media since Monday: the West did not pass Ukraine the intelligence it usually provides. According to media reports, the White House had threatened Kyiv with precisely this loss of information if it did not stop striking Russian oil refineries. The Russian state news agency TASS also wrote about the halt in the flow of intelligence.

Oil, prices and the energy truce

US President Donald Trump has long pressed Kyiv, blaming strikes on Russian refineries for rising fuel prices. He recently announced a temporary easing of sanctions on Russian oil exports and a deal with Moscow on deliveries to the US, which angered European allies and Kyiv. Experts and Zelensky point out that prices rose after the US and Israel attacked Iran in late February and Iran then blocked the Strait of Hormuz.

Zelensky added that Ukraine has now observed the energy truce announced by Trump on Sunday for a second day: it is not attacking Russian refineries or energy facilities. Russia, meanwhile, continues to hit key Ukrainian energy sites. “They have sent a perfectly clear signal that they do not intend to stop striking Ukraine,” Zelensky wrote.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz