Zelensky Says Russia Struck Ukraine Overnight With No Warning From Partners; Pentagon Denies Any Change in Intelligence Sharing

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday, Oct. 19, that Russia hit his country with another night of missile and drone strikes, "and again there was no warning from partners." It was the latest turn in a public fight with Washington that began over the weekend, when President Trump accused him of not wanting to end the war.

Zelensky said the targets were energy and other infrastructure. A medical clinic, a school, a metro station and "ordinary residential buildings" were also hit, he said.

Starshield, intelligence and delayed supplies

Zelensky has accused the U.S. of limiting intelligence and possibly other help. On Saturday he said Ukraine still could not use Starshield, the military version of Elon Musk's Starlink, to intercept Russian drones. Ukrainian forces rely on the network to shoot down Russia's jet-powered drones and other weapons.

In a Monday post on X, he went further. "There are political agreements that have not been implemented at the working level," he wrote, adding that there had been "delays in certain types of vital supplies at the level of the U.S. Department of War."

He did not say which supplies or how long the delays have lasted.

The administration denies it. A senior Pentagon official told CBS News on Monday: "There has been no change to Department of War policy regarding intelligence sharing or any capabilities we are enabling Europeans to provide to Ukraine."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed Starlink on Saturday. He said he was "not sure Zelenskyy knows what he's talking about, but it wasn't deliberate … we have nothing to do with that." He added that "nobody ordered that Starlink speed to be slowed down. It sort of happened, but my understanding is it's been restored."

Rubio did not explain what he meant by "it sort of happened."

Ukraine's top diplomat in Washington, chargé d'affaires Denys Sienik, said Saturday that Kyiv had received no answer from the Pentagon or SpaceX on its inquiries. That includes confirmation that unlimited speeds were restored and that Starshield works as it did before.

The two sides have given conflicting accounts, and the one question that could settle part of it has gone unanswered by the Pentagon and SpaceX. Is Starshield working for Ukrainian forces or not?

An energy ceasefire that Moscow has not confirmed

Trump announced on Truth Social that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an immediate halt to attacks on energy facilities. Moscow has not confirmed it, and the scope of the proposal is disputed.

A White House official told Axios the proposal initially focused on oil refineries, with a broader deal covering power plants and electricity grids possibly following. The official acknowledged Russia had not agreed.

Zelensky told Fox News host Bill Hemmer on Monday that Ukraine is ready. "We are ready today for energy ceasefire, as President Trump said. But I'm not sure that Putin is ready," he said. He claimed Ukraine struck no Russian energy sites overnight, while Russia hit Ukrainian gas infrastructure. "It was his answer to President Trump," Zelensky said.

He called the ceasefire a "good first step" and asked for "more pressure" on Russia.

That sits awkwardly with Washington's recent moves on Russian oil. The Trump administration has eased sanctions to allow Russian energy sales, aiming to bring down U.S. gas prices. Zelensky says that risks emboldening Moscow.

John Bolton, Trump's former national security adviser, called the deal to lift sanctions on Russian diesel "a very serious mistake." Keith Kellogg, a former Trump envoy, said on Fox Business that the diesel price problem comes from the Middle East, not from anything Zelensky has done.

The land question underneath

The public sniping sits on top of a harder dispute. U.S.-led talks are focused on roughly 6,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian-held land in Donetsk that Russia has not managed to take by force. Envoy Jared Kushner has claimed a peace deal is effectively in place if Ukraine withdraws from it.

Zelensky told the UN General Assembly that ceding the land would only embolden Putin. "He wants more of our cities, Odesa, Kharkiv, Dnipro, and others," he said.

Trump sees it differently. He has said Zelensky doesn't want to end the war and has suggested Ukraine should consider replacing him. Zelensky's answer, per the headline CBS gave his Monday remarks, is that Putin is the one who wants an endless war.

Zelensky also told Fox on Monday that he is ready for an election, though Ukraine remains under martial law.

What is still open

The Pentagon has put its denial on the record, and Zelensky has put specific complaints on the record without naming specific shipments. Russia has not accepted any energy ceasefire.

Until Moscow says yes or Washington answers Sienik's questions about Starshield, Ukraine's air defenses and its energy grid are facing the same Russian strikes.