Rubio Denies U.S. Intelligence Sharing with Ukraine Was Interrupted

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on October 20 rejected reports that Washington had suspended intelligence sharing with Ukraine, after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the United States had restored a key intelligence feed that helps Kyiv defend against Russian missile strikes.

“There was no pause,” Rubio told reporters during a visit to Uzbekistan on Monday. “What [Zelenskyy] should focus on, and what we want to move toward, is ending this war.”

According to Ukrainian officials, the country relies on U.S. intelligence delivered through Starshield — the military version of the Starlink satellite service — to detect the fast-flying ballistic missiles Russia launches in waves at its cities.

Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Zelenskyy said the intelligence sharing had been interrupted but was later “unblocked.” “We are very grateful for this. Now it is working again,” he said.

The comments came after Ukraine said some Russian attacks had occurred without warning.

Sanctions relief for Russia

Zelenskyy also argued that other U.S. moves, such as signing an agreement to import Russian diesel and exempting sanctions that were due to take effect this week, would work against Ukraine.

“If the U.S. officially sides with Russia, and if the two countries stand shoulder to shoulder, then of course we will not be able to win, we will not be able to hold out,” he said.

For his part, President Donald Trump on Sunday defended his decision to waive some sanctions on Russia and accused Zelenskyy of not wanting to end the war.

“My decision on Russia is very simple. I am in the process of negotiating peace for the war between Russia and Ukraine, and I don’t want to do anything foolish that would drive Russia away from the negotiating table,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

He asserted that “Zelenskyy doesn’t care” about ending the conflict. “Frankly, with all the money that Europe is famously giving him… he doesn’t want to end this war, and perhaps never did.”

Trump temporarily waived sanctions on Russian diesel, allowing large volumes of the fuel to flow onto the global market in a bid to lower fuel prices. He also repeated his accusation that Ukraine deliberately targets Russian refineries to hurt his Republican Party in the November 3 midterm elections.

Polls suggest Trump’s party is likely to lose those elections, with many voters frustrated by soaring fuel costs since the U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran in late February.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking on Meet the Press after the program aired the Zelenskyy interview, said the Ukrainian president “presents a false binary choice that Ukraine has to win.”

“The war has to end, and it will be some form of negotiated deal,” he said.

Bessent also rejected accusations that the U.S. administration was behind the slowing of SpaceX’s satellite communications system. “President Trump and Secretary Rubio have made it very clear that no one in the Trump administration did that,” he said. “And I think it is very imprudent of President Zelenskyy to make such an accusation.”

Meanwhile in Ukraine, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram on Monday that a Russian missile attack overnight had killed one woman and injured several other people in the capital. According to the State Emergency Service, the strike also damaged a subway station, a medical facility, an educational facility and a non-residential building.