A dispute over air defences and battlefield intelligence is deepening tensions between Kyiv and Washington, even as Ukraine faces renewed Russian strikes and pleads for more protection from missiles.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States is not intentionally holding back military supplies from Ukraine, which has been seeking advanced Patriot air defence interceptors to blunt Russian attacks.
“There’s nothing being deliberately denied to Ukraine,” Mr Rubio said during a trip to India.
He described the situation as a matter of competing demands. “It’s simply, it’s a balance between our obligations to other partners and frankly our own… requirements for our own facilities as well,” he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, however, accused the United States of deliberately slowing the delivery of interceptor missiles to Ukraine.
Mr Rubio also said President Donald Trump is “frustrated” by claims that he has deliberately undermined Ukraine, including allegations that he ordered intelligence sharing to be halted.
“The president is frustrated because, first of all, he doesn’t like to be blamed for things that aren’t true, including accusations that somehow he had ordered intelligence sharing to be cut off. And that’s not true; he’s said that repeatedly,” Mr Rubio said.
“I think the president, more than anything, is responding to the insinuation that somehow he is doing things to deliberately harm Ukraine, which is not fair and not true,” he added.
The latest exchange comes as relations between Ukraine and the US have cooled over military assistance and intelligence sharing. Mr Zelensky said yesterday that Ukraine received no early warning of powerful Russian missile strikes that targeted energy facilities in the capital region.
Efforts led by the US to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II have struggled in recent months, after Washington shifted attention towards the war with Iran.
Mr Zelensky said today that he had spoken to Mr Rubio, pressing him on problems involving the US military satellite system used by Ukraine and the delayed arrival of missiles.
According to the Ukrainian leader, he told Mr Rubio the Starshield system “needs to be restored” and that ballistic missile interceptors “are needed to protect lives”.
Mr Zelensky told US senators yesterday that “the Pentagon is delaying the delivery of missiles” already paid for by European countries, adding that the shipment was awaiting US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s signature.
He also said several European countries were prepared to transfer Patriot interceptor missiles from their own stockpiles but remained stuck pending US approval.
“The missiles are ready, and they could already be in Ukraine,” Mr Zelensky said.
“But unfortunately, there is still no approval,” he added.
Mr Trump has also rejected claims that he ordered a slowdown in speeds on the US government-owned and -controlled Starshield network, after Elon Musk, whose company SpaceX developed it, said the order could only have come from the White House.
Emergency services put out flames after airstrikes hit the region surrounding Kyiv (Pic: State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Kyiv region)
As the diplomatic wrangling continued, Ukrainian authorities said Russian strikes killed four people across the country as Moscow targets energy and transport infrastructure with winter approaching.
Three people died in an overnight strike in the region surrounding Kyiv, according to the area’s emergency service.
Russian forces hit a production and warehouse building, sparking a fire that was later put out, the emergency service said in a Telegram post. Six people were also injured in the attack.
In the southeast, one person was killed in strikes on Zaporizhzhia, according to the head of the regional military administration Ivan Fedorov.
Strained relations
The relationship between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky deteriorated publicly after the US leader partially lifted sanctions to strike a diesel-supply deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Mr Trump has also criticised Mr Zelensky as a warmonger over Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries.
“Zelensky doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Mr Trump said yesterday, in another broadside at his Ukrainian counterpart.
“To be honest, I think it’s time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine.”
Mr Trump said he was prepared to meet Mr Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in China next month to discuss denuclearisation, noting that the Ukraine war could also be on the agenda – a prospect that has heightened fears in Ukraine that it could be pushed aside.
Volodymyr Zelensky has accused the US of deliberately delaying the delivery of interceptor missiles to Ukraine
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier that “the topic of such a hypothetical has indeed been mentioned”, responding to questions about a Wall Street Journal report on Sunday that Mr Trump, Mr Putin and Mr Xi could hold talks.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga warned that such a meeting would “only encourage Putin to continue this war”.
Norway’s government said US envoy Mr Witkoff will travel to Oslo to join talks today with Mr Zelensky and the leaders of Norway and Finland, while Mr Kushner will take part remotely.
“Ukraine has requested that US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner join the meetings,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said in a statement.
“I am pleased that they are able to participate. Diplomatic efforts have previously taken place in several countries, and Norway and Finland are pleased to be able to continue this work. The aim is to put diplomatic efforts on a more constructive path.”
The Vatican said Mr Zelensky also spoke yesterday to Pope Leo XIV, days after the Catholic leader held a similar call with Mr Putin.
According to the Vatican, the Pope urged both sides to allow aid to reach the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky and to permit civilians to leave.
South Korea to withdraw embassy staff after POW row
South Korea’s foreign ministry said it will pull some staff from its embassy in Ukraine as a diplomatic dispute escalates over the transfer of North Korean prisoners of war to Seoul.
Tensions have been building since Mr Zelensky disclosed the transfer last month, a move that angered South Korea, which argued the operation should have remained confidential to protect the prisoners’ families in North Korea.
The announcement follows the return home of South Korea’s ambassador to Ukraine more than a week ago, after Seoul’s demand for an official apology over what it called an “unilateral disclosure” by Mr Zelensky went unanswered.
The recall of Seoul’s ambassador has drawn “no positive response from the Ukrainian side”, Park Doo-soon, a spokesperson for South Korea’s foreign ministry, said.
South Korea previously summoned Ukraine’s ambassador and warned of unspecified “further measures”.
Ukraine has said that “diplomacy must prevail over emotions” in relations between the two countries and later stated it considers “the situation resolved”.
Earlier this month, South Korea’s foreign minister Cho Hyun said Ukraine had sent a message that “included words of apology” over Mr Zelensky’s disclosure, but it did not meet “the level” Seoul expected.
Both prisoners of war were identifiable, having been photographed by South Korean media before arriving in the South.
