Zelensky says missile warnings work again as US denies ordering a cut-off

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that early warnings of incoming Russian ballistic missiles were working again, following talks in Oslo with US envoy Steve Witkoff. The alerts matter because they give people time to seek shelter and Ukrainian forces time to try to intercept the missiles. Zelensky’s remarks concerned those warnings, rather than every form of intelligence sharing. [1] [6]

“We are thankful that intelligence works now, and I’m speaking about early warning,” Zelensky said. On 13 October, he had said Ukraine received no warning from its partners before a ballistic missile attack on Kyiv the previous day. [6] [5]

His comments in Oslo do not date any change to the warnings: in an interview published on 18 October, Zelensky had already said intelligence sharing had been interrupted but then “de-blocked” and was working. [7]

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied that President Donald Trump had ordered any change to intelligence sharing. Rubio said the US was investigating problems involving strikes on 13 and 18 October. He raised the possibility of a problem in processing and responding to information, and said the US understanding pointed to a technical matter rather than a directive to withhold warnings. That account does not establish what caused the missed alerts Zelensky described. [4]

The warning dispute formed one part of wider talks on ending the war. Witkoff attended the Oslo meeting, while Jared Kushner joined remotely. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre described the diplomatic work as ongoing and said Witkoff planned to travel to St Petersburg on Wednesday to discuss proposals with Russian leaders. [2] [3]