The U.S. stopped providing the intelligence that’s helped Ukraine target Russian forces in Moscow’s three-year war as President Donald Trump’s administration escalates a standoff with Kyiv.
The halt covers all the intelligence except for what Ukraine needs to protect its forces, according to a U.S. official familiar with the decision, who spoke under the condition of anonymity.
U.S. national security adviser Mike Waltz signaled that intelligence-sharing was among the items on the table after Trump suspended military assistance to Ukraine this week, even as he expressed optimism that negotiators could revive a natural-resources deal the White House sees as crucial to resolving the war.
“We have taken a step back and are pausing and reviewing all aspects of this relationship,” Waltz told reporters in Washington.
The decision adds to mounting tension days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s White House visit on Friday descended into a shouting match with Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
The Financial Times reported earlier that the intelligence had been cut off, citing people it didn’t name. A top Ukrainian official later pushed back on reports of a stop, saying that spy agencies in Kyiv were still receiving the badly needed information.
The U.S. position on military and intelligence cooperation had hardened in the days after the Oval Office blowup, British officials said, though one stressed they were optimistic the situation could improve just as quickly if the minerals deal is signed.
Asked if the UK could act as a go-between on intelligence sharing with Ukraine, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesman Dave Pares said Britain was “working to do everything we can to put Ukraine in strongest position possible.”
The developments are the latest evidence of the U.S. ratcheting up its pressure campaign on Ukraine and are likely to further alarm Kyiv’s western allies, who have been scrambling for a response to Washington’s tilt toward Russia.
Rapprochement
U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe on Wednesday also seemed to affirm a question on whether the U.S. had stopped military as well as intelligence sharing.
“Sure,” he responded on Fox Business. “What President Trump said is he asked for a pause.” He didn’t elaborate.
A deputy presidential special envoy, Morgan Ortagus, cited a “temporary pause” in intelligence on Fox.
“This is a very simple message from President Trump that President Zelenskyy and the whole Ukrainian team needs to hear,” Ortagus said. “Come to the table ready to make peace. And when you’re ready to do that, then we’re ready to move on.”
But the U.S. hadn’t sent notification to allies about an intelligence cutoff, according to an eastern European official familiar with the matter. Allies would struggle to compensate for any such halt to information, the official said.
At the same time, the U.S. also held out chances of a rapprochement after the Oval Office fallout, which seemed to kill an emerging deal that would give the U.S. access to Ukraine’s natural resources.
Hours after Trump ordered a pause on military assistance to Kyiv, Trump in an address to a joint session of Congress said he’d received an “important letter” from Zelenskyy seeking to smooth over the rift, reading out what he said was an overture from the Ukrainian leader.
“I appreciate that he sent this letter,” Trump said. “Just got it a little while ago.”
No such letter was sent, Ukrainian officials said, but Zelenskyy expressed regret in a post on social media platform X on Tuesday, saying that he was ready to sign the natural-resources deal.
Even as reports of the intelligence halt emerged Wednesday, signs mounted that negotiators may indeed return to talks to shore up divisions.
Officials from Ukraine and the U.S. will soon meet to resume discussions about peace and security, top Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak said on Telegram following his call with Waltz.
“There’s positive movement,” Zelenskyy said in his evening video address in reference to talks. “We are hoping for first results next week.”
Source: American Military News
