US reacts to Kyiv's claim it received no advance notice of Russian ballistic missile launches
Key Points:
- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated he could not confirm reports that Ukraine received no advance warning before Russia's Oct. 19 ballistic missile attack on Kyiv, citing a lack of information.
- The missile strikes on Kyiv occurred in multiple waves overnight, killing at least one person and injuring eight, with President Zelensky asserting Ukraine had not received early warning from partner countries, including the U.S.
- Ukraine's Air Force confirmed no advance warning was received before the first wave of attacks, though some information was provided before the second wave; warnings during the attack were unusually short and sometimes coincided with explosions.
- Rubio mentioned a recent software problem with Ukraine's early warning system and noted that U.S. European Command was investigating, but he could not comment on the specific incident on Oct. 19.
- The situation reflects challenges in missile detection due to factors like the speed of Russian missiles, potential delays in satellite surveillance, and past issues where intelligence sharing was affected by political conditions.