US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has denied Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s claims that Washington temporarily suspended intelligence sharing with Kyiv. He also reported a software problem affecting Ukraine’s early warning system and explained Donald Trump’s decision to suspend sanctions against Russia.
Marco Rubio made the remarks while speaking to reporters, according to Clash Report.
Asked about Zelenskyy’s statement that intelligence sharing had been suspended earlier this week, the US secretary of state denied that any such pause had occurred.
“I don’t know where he’s getting these things from or why he’s saying these things to the press. There’s been no pause. Zelenskyy should be focused on bringing an end to this war,” Rubio said.
He also said that a software problem involving Ukraine’s early warning system had occurred a few nights earlier. According to Rubio, US European Command (EUCOM) is investigating the issue. He declined to comment on the events of the previous night.
According to sources cited by Radio Liberty journalist Alex Raufoglu, the ballistic missile strike on Kyiv overnight on October 19 occurred without any advance warning.
“Once again, there was no advance warning of the ballistic attack on Kyiv that just occurred,” the journalist’s sources said.
The previous day, October 18, Zelenskyy said the United States had resumed intelligence sharing with Ukraine after a three-day interruption. He had previously explained that Ukraine receives information about Russian ballistic missile launches from the United States because Washington possesses the necessary intelligence capabilities. Meanwhile, Trump had denied on October 13 that the US had stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine.
Speaking about Russia’s war against Ukraine, Rubio said neither side was winning, while people continued to die and destruction occurred every day. He said the underlying factors that led to the war and continued to shape it were difficult to address, but Washington would keep pursuing diplomatic efforts.
Asked what evidence suggested that Vladimir Putin was willing to engage in peace talks, Rubio replied that diplomacy was not a criminal case requiring evidence to be presented, and that diplomatic efforts meant continuing to seek an agreement.
The secretary of state also explained that Trump had suspended sanctions against Russia for 60 days because he wanted to see whether the ongoing negotiations could produce results.
