Ukraine Says US Failed to Warn of Russian Missile Strikes on Kyiv Power Grid

Ukraine said it received no advance notice from the United States about a Russian missile strike that hit Kyiv’s power facilities on Sunday night, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed, raising fresh worries that Washington is deliberately withholding intelligence to pressure Kyiv into yielding to Moscow.

Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yuri Ihnat told television viewers on Monday morning that no warning arrived before the Russian missile barrage struck Kyiv’s power plants around 11 p.m. Earlier, a Ukrainian government official informed the Guardian that the United States had not alerted the capital to the imminent attack.

Ihnat noted that Ukraine was warned ahead of a second strike that occurred at 3 a.m.

Zelenskyy posted on social media Monday morning: “Russia once again unleashed a multi‑wave ballistic missile barrage overnight, and our partners gave us no warning.”

He added that blocking Ukrainian air‑defense missile supplies while granting Russia sanctions relief or delays amounts to a denial of reality by Kyiv’s partners.

Zelenskyy is contending with recent U.S. actions that appear to favor Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On Friday, Donald Trump lifted a broad sanctions package on Russia, informing Congress that pausing the Lindsey Graham‑named bill—approved by both houses—served the national interest. Kyiv has also complained that shipments of U.S.‑made PAC‑3 air‑defense missiles have been delayed.

Posting on Truth Social Sunday, the U.S. president said: “My stance on Russia is straightforward—I am working to negotiate peace between Russia and Ukraine and will not take actions that foolishly push Russia away from the table.” He added, “Zelenskyy seems indifferent; given the generous European aid he receives, he appears unwilling to end the war and perhaps never intended to.”

Trump told reporters Monday he would be open to a trilateral meeting with Russia and China to discuss nuclear arms and denuclearization, saying he would accept such a summit if Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed.

For years, the United States has given Ukraine advance notice of Russian ballistic‑missile launches, providing a few minutes for air‑raid sirens and civilian sheltering. Yet Kyiv says it received no warning on at least three occasions in the past week, a period marked by a public spat between Zelenskyy and Trump.

While in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Monday morning, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he could not confirm whether a warning failed the previous night, but noted that a few nights earlier a software glitch had affected their early‑warning system.

U.S. officials had not previously cited a software issue in the early‑warning system; in at least one instance, Ukrainian officials were told that poor weather over southern Russia had hidden launch preparations. Rubio said the U.S. European Command is investigating the strikes.

The United States has claimed plausible deniability as support programs for Ukraine have started to falter. The Trump administration denies deliberately throttling Starlink services in Ukraine, the Elon Musk‑run satellite network used for offensive drones and Ukrainian air‑defense systems.

Kyiv also asserts that weapons supplied via the PURL arrangement—where Europe buys U.S. arms and transfers them to Ukraine—have been delayed. Reports say the Trump administration warned Kyiv that it would slow vital weapons shipments unless Ukraine halted attacks on Russian oil refineries.

On Sunday, Ukraine unleashed over 1,000 drones against Russia in one of its biggest aerial assaults of the war, igniting an oil export terminal and a depot in St. Petersburg.

Zelenskyy said on social media that the Sunday evening Russian barrage struck 28 substations and other key energy sites, cutting electricity, heat, and running water for more than 500,000 people. Moscow has repeatedly targeted Ukrainian trains, malls, fuel stations, and supermarkets to disrupt everyday life.

He added that Russia launched 16 ballistic missiles at Kyiv and its environs, and capital officials reported that a 21‑year‑old woman was killed in the attack.

Subsequent drone strikes on a public park in northeastern Kharkiv killed six people, among them young children. Governor Oleg Synegubov said on Telegram that three of the victims in Nova Vodolaha were children, one of whom was in a stroller. Seven children were among the 14 wounded, and police released photos of shattered playground equipment.

Synegubov denounced the attack as “another terrorist act by the Russian Federation,” stating that the enemy hit a recreational park in broad daylight despite knowing no military assets were present.

On Monday, Pope Leo XIV called Zelenskyy to discuss the besieged city of Oleshky in Kherson region, the Vatican said. During a Friday call with Russian President Putin, the pope said he had pressed for a humanitarian cease‑fire.

Residents of Oleshky are enduring a deepening humanitarian crisis, suffering food and medicine shortages while trapped in the crossfire between Russian and Ukrainian forces. The Vatican noted that Pope Leo XIV voiced grave concern over the situation and urged a cease‑fire to allow aid shipments and evacuations.

The conversation with Zelenskyy took place two days after the 71‑year‑old pope was released from a Rome hospital following lung‑cancer surgery on Tuesday.

On Friday, the Kremlin told the pope that it considers the Kyiv regime responsible for the dire humanitarian conditions.

Source link