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Zelenskyy: US Threatened Ukrainian Generals With Intelligence Cutoff Without Informing Him
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![Photo of Ivan Khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
The United States threatened to cut off intelligence sharing with Ukraine unless Kyiv stopped striking Russian oil refineries, delivering the warning directly to Ukrainian military commanders rather than President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy confirmed the threat, saying he learned about it from his generals instead of US officials.
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According to an NPR interview published on October 13, Zelenskyy said the warning was communicated at the military level, raising the possibility that Washington could suspend intelligence cooperation over Ukraine’s attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.
“They said it to my generals, not to me,” Zelenskyy said, confirming that Ukrainian commanders had informed him of the American warning.
The president clarified that the United States had threatened a possible suspension rather than formally announcing an end to intelligence sharing.
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The warning comes amid mounting pressure from the Trump administration to halt Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries. Washington has linked the attacks to rising fuel prices, while Kyiv maintains that targeting Russia’s energy infrastructure is necessary to undermine Moscow’s ability to finance its war.
Zelenskyy defended the strikes, arguing that Ukraine would only consider stopping attacks on Russian energy facilities if Moscow agreed to halt its own strikes against Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
The dispute has deepened following Washington’s decision to ease restrictions on Russian diesel exports. US President Donald Trump has argued that Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries are contributing to higher diesel prices in the United States.
Zelenskyy rejected that claim, pointing to disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz amid the war involving Iran as a major driver of global energy prices. He also argued that allowing Russian diesel exports would provide Moscow with additional revenue while doing little to reduce costs for American consumers.
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The intelligence cutoff threat has drawn additional attention following Russian ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv on October 12 and 13, when Ukrainian authorities reported receiving no advance warnings from international partners. Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat acknowledged that information about incoming missile threats does not always reach Ukrainian forces in time.
On October 14, Russia launched another massive attack involving 39 ballistic missiles and more than 120 drones, leaving at least 600,000 people without electricity. The strike followed two consecutive attacks on Kyiv in which Ukraine received no advance missile warnings from its partners.
Separately, SpaceX imposed new restrictions on Starlink’s military-focused StarShield service overnight on October 14, without warning Ukrainian forces and disrupting several military missions. According to sources in Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense, testing revealed connectivity restrictions affecting terminals moving faster than approximately 160 km/h.
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-4dac9c1e98dcdf365ac47735d2c0ccf5.jpg "The electrical substation sabotaged by ATESH partisans. (Source: ATESH)")
