Ukraine Warupdated 1h ago3 min read
Russia Launches Broad Missile Assault, Zelenskyy Says Partners Gave No Warning
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Russia launched one of its broadest air assaults overnight, crippling energy infrastructure. Zelenskyy said Ukraine received no warning from partners before the missile strikes.
10 outlets told this the same way.
Outlets did split on Marco Rubio Denies US Paused Intelligence Sharing With Ukraine, Zelenskiy Says It Was Deblocked →
Missiles, drones, and no warning
Russia launched one of its broadest air assaults in months overnight, cutting power to more than half a million households and damaging energy infrastructure across Ukraine, and Zelenskyy said Ukraine received no advance warning from its partners of a Russian ballistic missile strike. Zelenskyy called the strike "an act of absolute barbarity" and said "Another Russian ballistic missile attack came in several waves overnight, and once again, there was no early warning from our partners," on the Telegram app.
Moscow fired 16 ballistic missiles overnight at Kyiv and the surrounding region and more than 200 drones in attacks stretching from Kharkiv and Dnipro in the east to Odesa in the south and Volyn and Rivne in the west, while Ukraine said its air defenses downed 247 targets, including four cruise missiles and 243 drones. Oleh Syniehubov said a Russian drone attack killed six people, including two children, in a park near Kharkiv, and Ukraine’s Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi said the energy sector was the main target of the attacks with damage reported across the country.
Patriot delays and Purl
Zelenskyy said the United States was delaying deliveries of interceptor missiles for Patriot air defense systems, and he told a US congressional delegation that decisions taken by the United States on the war in Ukraine were "hard to explain."
Zelenskyy said Ukraine had not received full explanations over limitations placed on the use of the Starshield system and said that on three occasions in the past week Ukraine had not received the advance warning of an attack generally provided by its partners.
Zelenskyy said the Pentagon was delaying the delivery of missiles that Ukraine’s partners had already paid for through the PURL programme, and he said that to his knowledge one missile package was waiting for signature by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Ukrainian officials told the Kyiv Independent that Hegseth had not yet approved the transfer of a significant batch of Patriot interceptor missiles, and one Ukrainian official said, "Hegseth has the contracts for Patriot missiles on his desk. He is not signing off on them."
Starlink limits and political pressure
Zelenskyy said there are "political agreements that have not been implemented at the working level" and that there are delays in certain types of vital supplies at the level of the U.S. Department of Defense, while he said an additional meeting would be held that evening to review contacts to support Ukraine’s air defense.
Ukrinform reported Zelenskyy said Starshield equipment ceases to function at speeds of 130–161 km/h in various sectors of the front, and he emphasized, "Speed matters when it comes to saving lives,".
Serhiy Beskrestnov said that on the night of October 14, SpaceX imposed speed limits on Starlink terminals while in motion and the Ukrainian Defense Forces did not receive any warning, and the Ministry of Defense reported that the Starlink operational restrictions hampered the operation of unmanned systems and logistics.
Zelenskyy also said he was counting on concrete results, and he warned that the delays and restrictions could limit the use of drones, including interceptor drones Ukraine uses to counter Russian jet-powered attack drones.