Ukraine received no early warning from its partners about five Russian ballistic missiles that hit civilian infrastructure in the capital of Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday, as tensions rise between the Ukrainian leader and US President Donald Trump.
Zelenskyy did not specify which partners he was talking about. He characterized the barrage as “particularly vile” and emphasized that receiving intelligence from partners about such attacks “helps save lives" and is "one of the most critical issues.”
"This is precisely what helps prevent people from being killed — when there is an early warning about ballistic missiles,” he wrote in a post on X.
Trump said the US has not stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine.
“We are helping them, and we are sharing intel,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We want the war to end, so we’re working with them and with Russia on getting the war to end."
More missiles struck Kyiv late Tuesday, targeting energy systems. Zelenskyy said again that the country received no early warning from partners.
“It is important that the world does not stay silent about this,” he posted on X. “And it is important that the United States really see what is happening and who is responsible for this war continuing.”
Remarks follow biting criticism from Trump
Zelenskyy’s remarks come days after Trump unleashed biting criticism of him, including comments that it was time for a new president in Ukraine and that Zelenskyy has not done enough to end the war. The criticism marks perhaps the lowest point in their relationship since their disastrous Oval Office meeting in February 2025.
Kyiv continues to rely heavily on Washington for military assistance, including US-made Patriot missile-defense systems and intelligence.
The US has the capability to immediately spot Russian ballistic missile launches. American officials have in the past notified Ukraine about launches to allow it to issue missile warnings to the public and to use air defenses against incoming missiles.
Asked whether Ukraine received an explanation for the lack of intelligence ahead of the overnight missile strikes, a senior Ukrainian official said it was described as a “failure,” suggesting it was the result of circumstances such as weather conditions rather than a deliberate decision. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give an official statement on the matter.
Ukraine struggles to fend off aerial attacks
Russia's war in Ukraine has not seen major shifts on the ground since last year, but Ukraine is struggling to fend off Moscow's intensified aerial attacks that include speedy ballistic missiles and high-flying jet-powered drones.
Downing the missiles has been a challenge because of a shortage of Patriot missiles caused by the US-led war in Iran. Russia’s Iskander short-range ballistic missiles take just a few minutes to reach targets in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said Russia had attacked Ukraine with more than 100 weapons since Monday evening. A residential building in the northeastern city of Kharkiv was destroyed, killing four people despite an all-night rescue operation, he said.
Russia has increasingly used attacks on civilian infrastructure such as energy facilities to deny Ukrainians power, heat and running water during the 4½-year war, hoping to wear down public support for Ukraine’s response to Moscow’s full-scale invasion.
Zelenskyy says Ukraine is respecting energy ceasefire
Trump has blamed Ukraine's earlier strikes on Russian oil refineries for record US diesel prices — rather than the war in Iran. He struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday to import diesel from Russia in an attempt to bring fuel prices down ahead of US midterm elections.
Meanwhile, Trump claimed Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed on an “energy ceasefire” in which both parties would refrain from striking each other's energy infrastructure. Russia has not confirmed the existence of such a deal. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said only that “contacts on this matter continue.”
Zelenskyy on Tuesday said Ukraine had not struck Russian oil refineries or other energy sites in the two days since Trump announced the purported deal. He criticized Moscow for what he said were Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities and infrastructure in the time since Trump's announcement.
“The facts show that the Russians do not consider themselves bound by what the President of the United States said,” Zelenskyy said following the attack late Tuesday.
The claim that Ukraine has halted its strikes on energy sites could not be independently verified, but neither Russian officials nor media have reported Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries since the energy truce was announced.
Strikes on Kharkiv kill 4 and wound 41
Russian strikes across Ukraine caused injuries and deaths overnight Monday and into Tuesday. In addition to the four deaths in the apartment building in Kharkiv, 41 people were wounded in the city in one evening alone, Zelenskyy said.
A woman was wounded in a Russian strike on a private home in Kyiv’s Darnytskyi district, the Kyiv city military administration said. A Russian drone hit a residential building in the village of Murovane, near the western city of Lviv, during a morning attack Tuesday, Lviv Mayor Andrii Sadovyi said.
One person was killed in the Fastiv district of the Kyiv region, and at least two others were hurt in a Russian attack on the area, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the regional military administration.
A Russian drone struck an educational institution in the center of Rivne in northwest Ukraine, wounding 14 people, according to Oleksandr Koval, head of the Rivne regional military administration.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement Tuesday that its forces launched strikes “against Ukrainian military-industrial facilities, logistics centers, railway and port infrastructure, as well as vessels involved in delivering military cargo to Ukraine.”
The ministry also said a bulk carrier headed to the port of Mykolaiv with military cargo on board was hit in the estuary of the Bug River along the Black Sea.
The Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday said its air defenses overnight shot down 604 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions and the Sea of Azov.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 417 drones targeted the Moscow region. Most were downed far away, while 65 were intercepted as they approached the Russian capital.
A school, two private houses and a car were damaged in the attack in the Kaluga region southwest of Moscow, Gov. Vladislav Shapsha said.
