The US has paused intelligence sharing with Kyiv, CIA director John Ratcliffe said on Wednesday, in a move that could seriously hamper the Ukrainian military's ability to target Russian forces.
The decision to cut off intelligence-sharing, following a pause in military aid to Ukraine, appears aimed at forcing the US ally to the negotiating table, with the war showing no signs of ending soon.
During his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, President Donald Trump said he had received a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in which the Ukrainian leader expressed willingness to come to engage in negotiations.
“I think on the military front and the intelligence front, the pause [that prompted Ukraine's President to respond] I think will go away,” Mr Ratcliffe told Fox Business Network. “I think we'll work shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine as we have to push back on the aggression that's there, but to put the world in a better place for these peace negotiations to move forward.”
Three sources familiar with the situation told Reuters that US intelligence sharing had stopped. It was not immediately clear to what extent the US had cut back on the sharing. One of the sources said that intelligence sharing had only “partially” been cut, but was unable to provide more detail.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the US has provided Ukraine with significant intelligence, including critical information its military needs for targeting purposes. It has also provided it with billions of dollars in aid.
National Security Adviser Mike Waltz told reporters on Wednesday that the US “had taken a step back” and that the administration is “reviewing all aspects” of its intelligence relationship with Ukraine.
He added: “I think we've seen movement in the last 24 hours that the Ukrainian side will actually come to the table and negotiate a partial truce, a full truce and then a permanent peace.”
Mr Waltz also said that the US was actively engaged in talks with Ukraine about moving negotiations forward on a minerals deal and a potential peace deal with Russia.
“I think we're going to see movement in very short order,” he said.
The comments come days after a after Mr Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Mr Zelenskyy during a visit to Washington, calling him “disrespectful”.
Ukraine's leader was in Washington to discuss the war, as well as the proposed mineral deal, in which Ukraine would hand over billions of dollars in rare earth minerals to the US. Mr Trump claims this would both repay Washington for its military support and serve as a security guarantee against future Russian aggression.
“You're either going to make a deal or we're out,” Mr Trump said during the meeting.
