The US has cut off intelligence-sharing with Kiev, said CIA Director John Ratcliffe, in a move that could affect Ukraine's military operations in the conflict with Russia.
The decision announced on Wednesday to cut off intelligence-sharing and military aid to Ukraine starkly illustrates the Trump administration's willingness to play hardball with an ally to force it to the negotiating table.
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he received a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in which the Ukrainian leader expressed willingness to come to the negotiating table over the Russia-Ukraine war.
"I think on the military front and the intelligence front, the pause (that prompted Ukraine's president to respond) I think will go away," 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," he said.
TRT Global - Zelenskyy had travelled to Washington to sign a US-Ukrainian deal for the joint exploitation of Ukraine's vast mineral resources, as part of a post-war recovery in a US-brokered peace deal.
Three sources familiar with the situation also confirmed 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.
TRT Global - UN top rights official Volker Turk urges that Ukraine be part of any peace deal as US-Russia negotiations progress and highlights a 30 percent rise in civilian casualties.
Since the start of the war in 2022, the US has provided Ukraine with significant intelligence, including critical information its military needs for targeting purposes.
US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz told reporters Wednesday morning that the US "had taken a step back" and that the administration was "reviewing all aspects" of its intelligence relationship with Ukraine.
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.
TRT Global - Donald Trump cuts short talks with Volodymyr Zelenskyy over ending war with Russia and deal for US access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals after their feud in the Oval Office.
