To please Putin? Attack in Ukraine causes power outage for 600,000 people, US suspects turning off missile warning

A Ukrainian woman walked past a residential building in the capital Kiev on the 14th that was recently attacked by Russian missiles. (European News Agency)

First published 10-14 23:09

Update time 10-15 06:14

CBS News exclusively reported on the 14th that multiple people familiar with the matter revealed that the United States may have deliberately failed to provide Ukraine with early warning intelligence about Russia’s missile attacks this week. The Russian army has continuously attacked many places in Ukraine, killing at least 6 people and causing about 600,000 people to lose power supply. Ukrainian officials questioned that the United States used "bad weather" to explain the failure of the early warning system, but it may actually be "manipulating" the system.

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Russia dispatches 120 drones and 39 missiles

Ukrainian President Zelensky said that when the Russian military launched ballistic missile attacks on Kiev and other places in the early morning of the 13th, Ukraine "did not receive any advance warning from its partner countries." He pointed out that the Russian army launched more than 39 ballistic missiles and more than 120 attack drones and airborne munitions that night, mainly targeting energy and critical infrastructure in Kiev and Kharkiv.

Sources told CBS that U.S. officials later told Ukraine that the system used to detect Russian missile launches failed due to "bad weather." However, anonymous Ukrainian officials expressed disbelief in this statement and accused the United States of possibly "manipulating" the early warning system. People familiar with the matter pointed out that when the Russian military launched another wave of ballistic missiles around 3 a.m. on the 14th, the US early warning system seemed to have resumed operation.

The source also revealed that a similar situation occurred earlier this year, when the United States failed to provide information on Russian ballistic missile launches on the grounds that it needed to invest more resources in the Middle East. However, people familiar with the matter emphasized that the United States has not completely suspended intelligence sharing with Ukraine and that this week's lack of early warning was an isolated incident.

When asked on the 13th whether Washington had stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine, U.S. President Trump denied it, saying that the United States was still providing assistance and sharing intelligence, hoping to bring an end to the war, and was cooperating with Russia and Ukraine.

However, CBS quoted a European official and a Ukrainian official as saying that the Trump administration this week threatened to stop sharing intelligence and prevent European allies from purchasing U.S.-made weapons for Ukraine through the Priority Ukraine Requests List (PURL) procurement system if Ukraine did not stop its deep strikes on Russian energy infrastructure. Trump had just announced that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an "energy ceasefire," and the Russian military subsequently launched another attack.

On the other hand, the Ukrainian military stated that from the evening of the 13th to the morning of the 14th, the Starshield military satellite communication terminal of Musk’s Space Exploration Technology Company (SpaceX) was restricted from operating in a mobile state without prior notice.

Sources from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense told CBS that this measure makes it more difficult for drones to perform missions, especially affects interception drones and medium-range strike drones, and weakens frontline logistics, reconnaissance and signal relay capabilities.