Zelensky Adviser Says Ukrainians Died After Late US Missile Warnings; White House Says Nothing Has Changed

Since Ukraine first reported a break in US intelligence sharing last week, Kyiv's account has shifted from an interruption to a warning system that still doesn't work reliably. Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, told the BBC that Ukrainians have died because there was no time to warn them of incoming ballistic missiles.

"It's dangerous... I think it's really very bad... People [have] already died," he said. He did not name victims or specific strikes.

Warnings arriving a minute before impact

Beskrestnov described the US alerts as incomplete and inconsistent. "Sometimes we receive this information before the attack, another time we [do] not," he said. Of the previous night: "We received it, but... one minute before the attack."

He was specific about the scope. Other intelligence is still flowing, he said. "The issue is solely with the air raid alert component."

Zelensky described the same gap in a social media post on Monday, Oct. 19. Two ballistic missile attacks hit the capital overnight, he wrote. One came without warning. The other gave only minimal time to take shelter.

That came hours after an NBC interview in which Zelensky said US sharing had been restored after a three-day pause. "We are very thankful for this," he said. "Only [the] United States has this unique intelligence to tell our side when Russia uses ballistic missiles."

Washington denies any change

The White House says there has been no change to intelligence sharing with Ukraine. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also denies a pause and suggested a software problem with the early warning system might explain a recent incident. President Trump said Monday that the US has given Ukraine a lot.

Trump said earlier in the week that "we are sharing intel," and that the US wants the war to end.

The administration's stated frustration is with Ukraine's strikes on Russian refineries. Trump has said Zelensky "has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia" because it is driving up costs worldwide. AAA put the US average diesel price at $6.32 a gallon on Oct. 18, up from $3.63 a year earlier.

Zelensky told NPR the administration had warned that the US could end intelligence sharing unless Ukraine halts long-range strikes on Russian oil refineries. CNN has reported the same warning, and added that it extended to European purchases of US weapons for Ukraine. Washington has not publicly confirmed such a warning.

Beskrestnov said he believes the timing of the warning problems and the Starlink limits is "probably" deliberate pressure to push Ukraine toward negotiations with Russia. The Epoch Times noted he offered no evidence and did not say who might have requested any restriction. Many in Kyiv suspect the timing is no coincidence, according to the BBC.

Who controls Starshield?

Last week Starshield, the military version of Starlink, capped the speed at which mobile units can stay connected at 100mph (160km/h). That limits Ukraine's ability to shoot down incoming drones and to launch mid-range drone strikes into Russian-occupied areas. Kyiv uses the network for drones, helicopters and military communications.

Elon Musk said on X that Starshield is owned and controlled by the US government and that any limits on its speed or usage are up to the US military and the president. He said Starlink itself is a commercial service limited to civilian or defensive use and "cannot be used for offensive military action."

Trump has denied involvement. Two US officials told CNN the decision to limit Ukrainian access to Starshield was not a high-level US policy decision. Nobody has said publicly who did make it, and Beskrestnov said Kyiv has received no clarity.

Poland's foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, asked Musk on X whether the restrictions were meant as political pressure on Ukraine. Poland has said it pays for Ukraine's Starlink subscription.

Zelensky said earlier this month that the Starlink restriction was a "message" from the American government. He also said Russia was trying to exploit the disruption, since Ukraine's interceptor drones depend on the connection. Russia launched 124 drones overnight and another 145 during the day in one wave, he said.

The human toll

Russian attacks continued late Monday. Ukrainian officials said a drone strike near a park cafe in the Kharkiv region killed at least six people, including a young child and an 11-year-old girl, and injured 14 more. Ukrainian authorities have not said whether any warning was issued in that case, and nothing so far links it to the alert problem Beskrestnov described.

Separately, Alexander Beglov, governor of Saint Petersburg, said Ukrainian drones hit his region on Oct. 18, killing one person and injuring five. He said 12 apartment buildings and two private homes were damaged, and that the Petersburg Oil Terminal and the Ruchyi oil depot were among the targets.

What comes next

Beskrestnov said Ukraine has its own radar data that gives limited warning, but is urgently considering alternative systems. Two questions remain open: whether the air-raid alert feed returns to full reliability, and who in the US government set the Starshield speed limit.

The White House says nothing has changed, while the adviser says people are dying anyway.