US may have deliberately failed to warn Ukraine about Russian missile strikes - CBS News
The United States may have deliberately failed to provide Ukraine with advance warnings about Russian missile attacks on October 13-14. The American side explained the lack of intelligence data by poor weather, but Ukrainian officials doubt the credibility of this version.
CBS News reported this on October 14, citing several sources familiar with the situation.
According to the channel's interlocutors, American representatives told the Ukrainian side that the detection system for Russian missile launches did not work due to unfavorable weather conditions.
However, Ukrainian officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, did not believe this explanation. They suspect that the American side may have deliberately limited the transmission of warnings.
CBS News sources noted that during the next wave of Russian ballistic strikes, which occurred around three in the morning on October 14, the American early warning system was working again.
At the same time, the channel provides no evidence that the warnings were blocked due to a political decision by Washington. This concerns suspicions of Ukrainian representatives, not an established fact.
CBS News sources also recounted that earlier this year there was already a case when the US did not provide Ukraine with intelligence on launches of Russian ballistic missiles. At that time, the American side explained this by the need to focus more resources on the Middle East.
Interruptions occurred amid pressure from Washington
According to CBS News, earlier this week the administration of US President Donald Trump threatened to stop intelligence sharing with Ukraine and block purchases of American weapons by European partners under the PURL program.
As European and Ukrainian officials told the channel, such measures could follow if Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure continued.
At the same time, CBS News sources emphasize that the US has not stopped transferring intelligence to Ukraine as a whole. They view the absence of warnings about the latest missile attacks as a separate episode.
Donald Trump himself on October 13 denied information about the cessation of intelligence cooperation with Kyiv.
"We are helping them and sharing intelligence. We want the war to end," the American president said.
Russian strikes led to deaths and power outages
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky previously reported that international partners twice during the week did not provide warnings about launches of Russian ballistic missiles at Kyiv.
According to him, such information is critically important for protecting civilian population and the operation of air defense.
During the massive attack on the night of October 14, Russia used more than 39 ballistic missiles and over 120 strike drones and barraging munitions. The main targets were energy and critical infrastructure facilities in Kyiv and Kharkiv.
As a result of Russian strikes, six people died, and about 600,000 consumers lost electricity.
At the same time, the Ukrainian military faced restrictions in the operation of Starlink satellite communications. According to CBS News, SpaceX without prior notice restricted the use of terminals of the military service Starshield during movement, which complicated the performance of certain tasks by unmanned systems.
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine began consultations with representatives of the US, SpaceX, and NATO regarding the problems that arose.
At the time of publication, CBS News reached out to the White House, the Pentagon, and SpaceX for comments. Responses from these agencies and the company were not provided in the publication.
Thus, the reasons for the absence of early warnings about Russian missile attacks remain unclear. The assumption of a deliberate restriction of data transmission has not yet received independent confirmation.
Based on materials from: CBS News, Financial Times, Office of the President of Ukraine.