On October 19, US Secretary of State Rubio denied publicly that the United States had suspended sharing some intelligence with Ukraine during his visit to Uzbekistan. This statement contradicts the statements made by Ukrainian President Zelenskyy.
"I don't know where he got these statements from, nor why he told them to the media. You should go back and ask him. Information sharing has never been suspended."
He should be concerned with how to end this war now. That is what he should focus on. Lu Bi'ao said.
Rubio said that the United States' goal is to end this war. "We cannot see any benefits from this war; instead, there are many negative effects, including a very real risk of escalation and spread."
On the 18th, Zelenskyy said in an interview with NBC that the United States has ‘ lifted the blockade’ and resumed intelligence sharing regarding potential ballistic missile attacks from Russia. ‘This intelligence sharing was interrupted for a period of time, and then the US also lifted the blockade. We are very grateful for this. Now, intelligence sharing has returned to normal.’
He also said, “Only the United States has access to such unique intelligence, which allows them to inform us when Russia uses ballistic missiles. During those three days of missile attacks, we did not receive any such intelligence.”
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, early in the morning on the 19th, the Russian military carried out large-scale strikes against Ukrainian targets. The attacks targeted military-industrial enterprises in Kyiv City and Kyiv Oblast, as well as storage facilities for cruise missiles and drones, and data processing centers.
Subsequently, Zelenskyy posted on social media, stating that "our partners once again failed to issue warnings in advance" during the Russian nighttime attacks.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Ignat said in an interview with Ukrainian television that Kiev did not receive any warnings before the first round of ballistic missile attacks at night, but received relevant information before the second round of attacks. "For some reason, we did not receive any information during the first attack. Our experts are working with partners to investigate this matter, as this is not the first time such a situation has occurred."
Ukraine has always relied on intelligence provided by the United States to detect the launch of Russian ballistic missiles and to issue warnings about impending attacks.
In the past few days, the United States and Ukraine have made contradictory statements more than once, and relations between the two countries have deteriorated sharply.
As relations between the United States and Ukraine reach a new low, in addition to accusing the United States of suspending intelligence sharing, Zelenskyy has recently listed a series of unfriendly actions taken by Washington towards Kiev in the media. These include deliberately slowing down Starlink satellite communication terminals and delaying the delivery of Patriot missiles.
Zelenskyy said that the speed limit imposed on Starlink not only affected drone operations on the front lines in Ukraine, but also hindered the execution of some air defense tasks. “This is a signal sent by the U.S. government to limit the operating speed. Technically speaking, SpaceX has complied with this requirement.”
Zelenskyy also said that the United States is delaying the delivery of Patriot interceptor missiles. The Patriot system is used to intercept Russian ballistic missiles.
He said that the United States currently supplies only 12 ‘Patriot’ interceptor missiles to Ukraine each month, which is approximately one-fourth of the amount during the Biden administration. During Trump’s presidency, the United States sold these missiles to Ukraine, while Biden provided them as military aid free of charge.
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Brian Deese, stated in an NBC interview on August 18th that Zelensky's accusations against the Trump administration's manipulation and restriction of Starlink service were "reckless."
Bazant said, “President Trump and Secretary of State Rubio have made it clear that no one in the Trump administration has done such a thing. I believe that President Zelensky’s accusations are very reckless.”
He added, "Putin when making unsubstantiated remarks needs extra caution."
Later on the 18th, Trump posted a message on his social platform “Truth Social”, stating that he was pushing for peaceful negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and that “great progress had been made”. However, he also accused Zelenskyy of being “indifferent”. “To be honest, Europe has been providing him with a lot of funding… He doesn’t want to end this war, and perhaps he didn’t even want to end it from the beginning.”
