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Ukraine receives 'no early warning' as missile barrage pounds Kyiv

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denies intelligence-sharing with Ukraine is suspended as Vladimir Putin proposes a summit with Xi Jinping and Donald Trump to discuss the war.

RelxNews Staff19 October 2026 at 16:11 UTC2 min read
Ukraine receives 'no early warning' as missile barrage pounds Kyiv

Ukraine did not receive an early warning from allies about incoming Russian ballistic strikes that targeted energy facilities in the Kyiv region, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says, amid the growing public rift between the Trump administration and Ukraine.

Russia launched 16 ballistic missiles at the Kyiv region and over 200 drones across the war-torn country, Mr Zelenskyy said.

One strike in a park in the Kharkiv region killed six people, including three children, while another 15 people were injured.

"Another Russian ballistic missile attack came in several waves overnight, and once again, there was no early warning from our partners," Mr Zelenskyy said on social media.

He added that some vital deliveries from the United States were being delayed.

Last week Kyiv said there had been no warning from the United States of similar strikes, leaving virtually no time for residents to take shelter.

Mr Zelenskyy also repeated his accusation that US military satellite systems were slowing down Ukrainian drones, hindering their ability to hit Russian targets.

He said frontline units had reported that the Starshield equipment "stops functioning at speeds of 130-160 kilometres (80-100 miles) per hour in various sectors of the front".

Both Mr Trump and SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk have denied being responsible for the Starshield speed limits.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied earlier on Monday, local time, that there had been any suspension of intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

"There has been no pause," Mr Rubio told reporters in Uzbekistan when asked about Ukraine's claims, calling on Mr Zelenskyy to "focus" on ending the war with Russia.

Mr Trump, who says he has made a deal with Russia to secure fuel exports in exchange for the easing of sanctions, has made renewed attacks on Mr Zelenskyy in recent days over the war.

The US leader wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday that he was making "great progress" in negotiating peace between Russia and Ukraine, but claimed: "Zelenskyy doesn't care, and frankly, with all of the money that Europe is famously giving him … he doesn't want to end this war, and probably never did."

But Mr Zelenskyy hit back at the claims, in a post saying that "Ukraine never wanted this war, and we have welcomed literally EVERY attempt by our partners to bring this war to a dignified end".

Russia-China-US summit on the cards

The diplomatic tensions between Washington and Kyiv come as Russia continues carrying out strikes across Ukraine.

Two women and an infant were killed on Monday in a Russian drone attack on a village in Kharkiv region, Ukraine's interior minister Ivan Vyhivskyi said.

The drone hit a park where families were playing with children, he added on the Telegram app. Mr Vyhivskyi shared a blurred photo showing a child's body in a stroller.

Broader strikes also hit energy facilities in 11 Ukrainian regions through the night, Mr Zelenskyy said.

It came as Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha warned that a proposed meeting between the leaders of Russia, China and the US could only serve to prolong the war.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin had proposed a summit next month with Mr Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to negotiate an end to the war on terms that would favour Moscow.

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