Rubio comments on new reports about lack of warning to Kyiv regarding ballistic missiles
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he does not have enough information to confirm or deny reports about the absence of an American warning before the Russian ballistic missile attack on Kyiv on the night of October 19. At the same time, he acknowledged that a few days earlier there were technical problems with the early warning system.
This was reported by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty correspondent in Washington Alex Raufoglu, who asked a question to the US Secretary of State.
Earlier, the journalist, citing Ukrainian sources, reported that during another ballistic strike on the capital, Ukraine again did not receive timely warning from partners about the missile launches.
Rubio could not confirm the information about the new incident. According to him, a few nights ago there was indeed a software problem related to Ukraine's early warning system. The circumstances of this failure are being studied by the US European Command (EUCOM).
"I do not know exactly what happened last night", Rubio said, explaining that he has no information to comment on the latest attack.
Thus, the American side has not publicly established the causes of a possible repeated failure. There is also no confirmation that the absence of warning was the result of deliberate restriction of intelligence sharing.
The situation attracted attention after President Volodymyr Zelensky's statement on October 18. In an interview with NBC News, he said that the US has resumed sharing intelligence about Russian ballistic missiles after a three-day pause.
Zelensky emphasized that the United States has unique capabilities for early detection of Russian ballistic missile launches. The President thanked Washington for resuming data sharing and said that the system is working again.
However, already on the night of October 19, Russia again attacked Kyiv with ballistic missiles. According to The Kyiv Independent, during the first strikes, air raid sirens sounded almost simultaneously with the explosions. At the same time, before subsequent attacks, Ukrainian services had time to warn the population about the danger.
Problems with intelligence sharing arose amid strained relations between Kyiv and Washington. Earlier, Zelensky reported warnings from the American administration about the possible termination of intelligence support if Ukraine continues strikes on Russian oil refineries.
It remains unclear whether the absence of early warning during the latest attack is related to the technical malfunctions mentioned by Rubio or to other circumstances.
Materials: Alex Raufoglu - report from Ukrainian sources, Alex Raufoglu - Marco Rubio's comment, The Kyiv Independent