A Russian missile attack that killed one person in Kyiv also exposed a gap in partner warnings: Ukraine's air force said it received advance information for only the second of two ballistic waves.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia fired 16 ballistic missiles, mainly at Kyiv and the surrounding region. He reported damage to more than 10 energy facilities across Ukraine and power cuts affecting at least 550,000 households. Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported eight people injured in the capital in addition to the death.
Kyiv's city administration identified the person killed as a 21-year-old woman. It also reported damage to metro tracks and cables.
In an interview with The New Voice of Ukraine, Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat put the first wave at about 11 p.m. Kyiv time on Oct. 18 (20:00 UTC). He said partner information arrived ahead of the second wave, at about 3 a.m. Kyiv time on Oct. 19 (00:00 UTC). Ukraine had roughly one minute to respond to each wave, he said.
Zelenskyy had described the overnight attack as one for which Ukraine received no partner warning. Ihnat's account distinguished between the two waves, saying information arrived before the second.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Oct. 19 that U.S. European Command (EUCOM) had examined a problem with Ukraine's early-warning software several nights earlier. Asked about the latest attack, Rubio said, “I can't comment on what happened last night.” He did not say the earlier problem explained the missing information before the first wave.
Rubio separately disputed Zelenskyy's account of a pause in U.S. intelligence sharing with Ukraine. The Associated Press has reported that intelligence from Western partners helps Ukraine track Russian launches and alert the public. AP also reported that Zelenskyy raised a warning gap after a separate strike on Kyiv on Oct. 12.
Ihnat said Ukrainian and partner specialists were reviewing what happened before the first wave.
