U.S. may have withheld early warnings of Russian strikes, sources tell CBS News

Multiple sources familiar with the matter told CBS News that the United States may have deliberately withheld early warnings ahead of Russian strikes on Ukraine this week. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine got no advance warning from its partners when Russia fired a ballistic missile barrage at Kyiv and other locations early Tuesday. American officials reportedly told Ukrainian counterparts that the system used to detect Russian missile launches had failed because of bad weather, according to CBS News. Ukrainian officials, speaking anonymously, said they did not accept that explanation and accused Washington of toying with the system.

The U.S. early warning system appeared to be working again when Russia launched another ballistic missile wave around 3 a.m. local time Wednesday, sources told CBS News. According to those sources, the U.S. had also failed to provide intelligence on Russian ballistic missile launches in one previous instance earlier this year, citing a need to focus more resources on the Middle East. CBS News reported that the U.S. had not stopped intelligence sharing with Ukraine overall, describing the missing warning about this week's attacks as a specific incident. Ukraine depends on U.S. intelligence for offensive and defensive operations, including satellite and aircraft sensor data used to identify launches of Russian aircraft and missiles.

Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Russia launched more than 39 ballistic missiles and more than 120 attack drones and loitering munitions in the overnight attack. The strikes mainly targeted energy and critical infrastructure in Kyiv and Kharkiv, killing six people and leaving about 600,000 without power, according to the Ukrainian president. The attacks began soon after President Trump wrote on social media that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an energy ceasefire. Earlier in the week, the Trump administration threatened to stop sharing intelligence and to halt purchases of U.S.-made weapons by European allies for Ukraine through the PURL procurement system if Ukraine did not stop deep strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, a European official and a Ukrainian official told CBS News.

Ukrainian officials and soldiers told CBS News that Ukraine's military began experiencing difficulties with Starlink, the satellite network owned by SpaceX's Elon Musk, on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Sources in Ukraine's Ministry of Defense told CBS News that SpaceX unilaterally restricted Starshield military-package terminals while in motion on the night of Oct. 14, without notifying Ukraine's Defense Forces, complicating drone missions, front-line logistics, reconnaissance and communications relay. The ministry said it was in contact with the United States, SpaceX and NATO partners, collecting data from units and testing backup communications. The Starlink restrictions were first reported by the Kyiv Independent and the Financial Times, and CBS News said it reached out to SpaceX, the White House and the Pentagon for comment.