Ukraine relies solely on US for ballistic missile launch warnings, Zelenskyy says
Ukraine receives intelligence from dozens of international partners, but the United States is its only source of information about ballistic missile launches, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a briefing in Brussels on October 16.
His remarks came amid discussions about Europe's growing role in intelligence support for Ukraine.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot recently said European countries, including France, now provide approximately two-thirds of the intelligence shared with Ukraine.
Zelenskyy's statement highlights the distinction between overall intelligence support and the specialized early-warning information needed to detect ballistic missile launches.
Ukraine has recently reported instances in which it received no advance warning of Russian ballistic missile launches.
A source familiar with the matter told Politico that US officials attributed the lack of warning to poor weather conditions.
During the same briefing, Zelenskyy also addressed the possibility of replacing the US-operated Starlink satellite communications network with European alternatives. He said such a replacement was not currently under consideration.
Ukraine's Defense Ministry previously confirmed that SpaceX had unilaterally imposed restrictions on Starshield terminals used by Ukrainian forces, without prior notice.
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