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Ukraine is getting its early warning back. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Tuesday that the United States has resumed sharing intelligence on looming Russian strikes, after a pause that Kyiv says left civilians without warning of incoming missiles. "We are thankful that intelligence works… I'm speaking about early warning, what is very important for our people, for children, adults, civilians, because we can hear when ballistic is coming," Zelenskyy told reporters in Oslo, according to Channel News Asia.
The announcement came after meetings in the Norwegian capital with US envoys Steve Witkoff and — remotely — Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, alongside Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb. Zelenskyy said intelligence cooperation had been "interrupted but later de-blocked," using the same phrase he gave NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday. "We are very thankful for this," he said then. "Now it works."
Why this intelligence is life-or-death
This isn't battlefield trivia — it's the difference between a city that shelters and a city that doesn't. Ukraine has relied on American intelligence to spot the fast-moving ballistic missiles Russia fires in waves at its cities and energy infrastructure. Without early warning, the minutes that let civilians reach cover simply vanish. Zelenskyy said that during the pause, powerful Russian strikes hit energy facilities in the Kyiv region with no advance notice — and he accused Washington of deliberately withholding the intelligence and delaying military aid, a charge US Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed as "scandalous."
The rift it papers over — for now
The restoration lands in the middle of the worst Kyiv–Washington rift of the war. Relations have soured since Trump partially lifted sanctions to strike a diesel-supply deal with Vladimir Putin's Russia, and waived sanctions that had been slated to take effect this week. Trump has slammed Zelenskyy as a warmonger over Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries, and told reporters in Washington he wants the Ukrainian president to "make a deal" with Russia. On NBC, Zelenskyy warned: "If the United States will officially take the side of Russia, of course if these two countries will be together, of course we will not prevail." Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, appearing on the same program, declined to say directly whether the US views Ukraine as an ally.
Oslo's "genuine progress" — and St. Petersburg next
There was diplomatic movement too. Finnish President Stubb said "genuine progress" had been made on proposals to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II — though he gave no details and cautioned patience. Zelenskyy insisted Ukraine must be included in any talks on its fate: "Ukraine wants peace more than anyone." The next step is already scheduled: Witkoff travels to St. Petersburg on Wednesday to put the proposals to the Russian side, with European leaders watching for Moscow's response.
The resumption of intelligence sharing removes one immediate danger from Ukraine's skies. Whether it signals a genuine reset in the Washington relationship — or just a tactical pause in the pressure — will be decided in St. Petersburg, and in whether the missiles keep getting spotted before they land.
Read more: Putin's proposed Trump–Xi summit on Ukraine and why Ukraine's air defenses are under strain. Original reporting: Reuters and Channel News Asia.
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