Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that Ukraine was once again receiving early warnings and intelligence from the United States about Russian ballistic missile attacks following recent strikes that he said had occurred without sufficient notice.
Zelenskyy said the restoration followed discussions with American officials, including a phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier in the day. He has said for at least a week that Ukraine's military had not received timely early warnings about ballistic missiles targeting Kyiv.
The Ukrainian leader stressed that such intelligence saves lives by allowing authorities to alert the public and giving military units time to attempt interceptions.
"We are thankful that intelligence works now, and I'm speaking about early warning, which is very important for our people, for children, adults, civilians, because we can hear when ballistic is coming," Zelenskyy said during a visit to Norway. "So we are thankful to American side now that it works."
Zelenskyy said he had a "substantive conversation" with Rubio and expressed gratitude for his willingness to help. "I am grateful for his readiness to help and his clear position," Zelenskyy said on social media.
Rubio, who arrived in India on Tuesday on an official trip, denied that Washington was withholding assistance from Ukraine. "Nothing has changed," he told reporters.
The US secretary of state said Patriot air-defence ammunition needed by Ukraine was in short supply and was also required elsewhere in the world.
"There has not been some deliberate political directive to go out and harm Ukraine," Rubio said.
Zelenskyy raises concerns over declining US support
The discussions came amid renewed tensions between Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump, with Kyiv concerned about the future of American military assistance and intelligence sharing.
Zelenskyy told a bipartisan group of US lawmakers on Monday that he believed "some political decision has been made to slow down … support for us."
Ukraine has nearly run out of American-made Patriot air-defence interceptors needed to counter Russian ballistic missiles, according to Zelenskyy, who has urged Washington to provide additional supplies. He said the Pentagon was delaying the delivery of missiles that other countries had purchased for Ukraine.
Zelenskyy also sought Rubio's assistance in ensuring the continued sharing of vital US intelligence after Ukraine received no warnings or delayed warnings ahead of Russian missile attacks in recent days.
The Ukrainian president further said that speed restrictions remained in place on Ukraine's use of Starshield, the military-grade version of US company SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, hampering battlefield operations.
Trump has also waived sanctions on Russia, a move Zelenskyy criticised as helping Russian President Vladimir Putin continue Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which will reach its five-year mark in February.
Zelenskyy seeks further international support
Zelenskyy travelled to Norway as Russia launched another wave of missile and drone attacks against civilian areas in Ukraine, killing at least nine people, according to officials.
He was accompanied by US special representative Steve Witkoff, who has sought to bring Russia and Ukraine towards a settlement to end the war. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb also met with the Ukrainian president in Oslo.
Støre said Witkoff planned to travel to St. Petersburg on Wednesday to meet Russian leaders, exchange ideas from the Oslo discussions, and share proposals from European and American colleagues.
"Today was a good day for peace," Stubb said.
Speaking at a news conference after meeting US peace negotiators, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was not losing the war against Russia but was losing its people. He reiterated Kyiv's commitment to finding a path to peace and said Ukraine hoped to discuss key issues related to ending the conflict at a trilateral meeting of leaders.
Støre described the meeting earlier in the day involving Zelenskyy, Witkoff and Stubb as "good and constructive".
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow was willing to consider new US proposals on Ukraine but did not expect any "miracle" from Washington.
Europe steps up support for Ukraine
As Russian forces remain held up along the front line, Western leaders and analysts have said Putin is attempting to bomb Ukraine into submission while Kyiv faces the prospect of reduced US support.
European countries, concerned about Russia's ambitions on the continent and viewing Ukraine as a bulwark against Moscow, are seeking to compensate for any decline in American supplies. However, some critical military assets remain American-made.
European countries and European Union institutions have allocated 237 billion euros to support Ukraine, compared with 115 billion euros from the United States, according to Germany's Kiel Institute, which tracks assistance to Kyiv.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas questioned on Tuesday whether US negotiators had acted as honest brokers in peace efforts. Ukrainian officials have said the Trump administration encouraged Kyiv to surrender territory to Russia in exchange for peace.
"Although American negotiators have been trying to push Ukraine into surrender for … one and a half years now," Ukraine has not accepted Putin's terms "because Europe has been supporting Ukraine," Kallas said.
Russian attacks kill civilians and disrupt power supplies
Russian missile and drone attacks killed civilians, wounded dozens and damaged infrastructure across Ukraine over the past day, according to Ukrainian officials.
Four people were killed and 27 others, including children, were wounded in attacks on the Kyiv region, regional police said.
Three people were killed and six wounded in the Obukhiv district, where warehouses were damaged. In the Bucha district, one woman was killed and 21 people were wounded, including eight children. Hundreds of buildings were also damaged, police said.
On Tuesday morning, three people were killed and four injured when two vehicles caught fire in a Russian attack on the Kyiv-Odesa highway, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said.
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Those killed included the driver of a shuttle bus that was hit. The bus transports people from Kyiv to the National Military Memorial Cemetery.
Two more people were killed in a Russian attack on warehouses on the outskirts of Dnipro in central Ukraine, authorities said.
National grid operator Ukrenergo reported power outages in 12 Ukrainian regions following the attacks.
Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had carried out drone strikes on logistics centres, port infrastructure and three cargo ships at the port of Reni in the Odesa region. It also said another bulk carrier had been hit at sea while travelling towards Odesa.
Meanwhile, the ministry said Russian air defences had intercepted 136 Ukrainian drones over multiple Russian regions overnight.
(With inputs from AP via PTI & Reuters)
