Russia pounds Kyiv as Rubio denies pause in US intelligence sharing with Ukraine 

SAMARKAND — Russia said on Monday it carried out a “massive strike” on targets in the Kyiv region as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied that Washington had paused intelligence sharing with Ukraine and urged its president Volodymyr Zelensky to focus on ending the war.The Russian Defence Ministry said the attack targeted military-industrial facilities, storage sites for cruise missiles and drones, and data centers.”There has been no pause,” Rubio told reporters in Uzbekistan’s capital when asked about Ukraine’s claims that the United States had briefly halted the sending of intelligence to help counter Russia’s missile attacks.The Ukrainian leader told US media on Sunday that the move had been “deblocked by the American side” after a three-day suspension.Rubio, who is in Samarkand for talks with Central Asian officials, said that President Donald Trump wanted Zelensky and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to concentrate on ending the Russian invasion, now into its fifth year.”What he (Zelensky) should be focused on and what we want to be focused on is bringing an end to this war,” Rubio said.”That’s what we want everybody to be focused on. That’s what we want the Russians to be focused on. That’s what we should be focused on. That’s what the president has made a priority: is trying to bring a war and an end to this war,” the top US diplomat said.Trump, who says he has made a deal with Russia to secure fuel exports in exchange for the easing of sanctions, has made renewed attacks on Zelensky in recent days over the war.The US leader wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday that he was making “great progress” in negotiating peace between Russia and Ukraine, but claimed: “Zelenskyy doesn’t care, and frankly, with all of the money that Europe is famously giving him…he doesn’t want to end this war and probably never did.””Zelensky is using Diesel Refineries in Russia as a target, knowing that these attacks are seriously hurting the world diesel markets, including those in the United States,” Trump said.But Zelensky said he was “thankful” that the United States has resumed intelligence sharing after a pause had left his country more vulnerable to Russian missile strikes.”It was blocked for some period of time. And then it was deblocked by the American side. We are very thankful for this. Now it works,” he told NBC’s “Meet the Press” in an interview published on Sunday.”Only (the) United States has this unique intelligence to tell our side when Russia uses ballistic missiles. And we didn’t get it during ballistic attacks during three days,” Zelensky added.In the past week, Kyiv also reported restrictions to satellite services operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which Ukraine relies on for battlefield communications, shortly after US President Donald Trump criticised Ukraine and urged it to stop targeting Russian oil refineries.Zelensky said he believed “it was a message from American government to limit the speed. And technically, SpaceX did it.”The Trump administration has denied it was behind any slowdown and Zelensky’s remark drew a quick rebuke from a top US official.”President (Donald) Trump and Secretary (of State Marco) Rubio have categorically said that no one in the Trump administration did that. And I think it is very reckless for President Zelensky to make such a charge,” Bessent told NBC in a separate interview aired on the same show Sunday.Bessent did not provide an alternative explanation.Musk, who has himself been critical of Zelensky and has called on him “to go,” said on Wednesday that any disruptions reported by Ukraine in using the Starshield satellite communications system would be the responsibility of the US government.Meanwhile, Ukraine is pushing ahead with plans to develop European alternatives to US-made air defense systems and Starlink satellite communications, with discussions under way and Kyiv expecting progress considerably sooner than sceptics anticipate, a senior Ukrainian presidential official told Euronews last week.Ihor Zhovkva, deputy head of Zelensky’s office, said Ukraine was seeking to reduce its reliance on American capabilities as uncertainty over Washington’s support places growing pressure on Europe to strengthen its own defences.”We are, of course, relying on the unique capabilities provided by the United States, whether air defence systems or Starlink,” Zhovkva said.”But Ukraine has already begun substantive discussions with European countries about a European air defense system.”