The US has paused intelligence-sharing with Ukraine, CIA director John Ratcliffe said yesterday, piling pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to co-operate with US President Donald Trump in convening peace talks with Russia.
The suspension, which could cost lives by hurting Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russian missile strikes, followed a halt this week to US military aid to Kyiv. It underscores Trump’s willingness to play hardball with an ally as he pivots to a more conciliatory approach to Moscow from what was strong US support for Ukraine.
The pressure appears to have worked, with Trump on Tuesday saying he received a letter from Zelenskiy in which the Ukrainian leader said he was willing to come to the negotiating table.
“I think on the military front and the intelligence front, the pause 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.
Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, told another Fox programme that the president would consider restoring assistance to Kyiv if peace talks are arranged and unspecified confidence-building measures taken.
A source familiar with the situation said the Trump administration had halted “everything,” including targeting data that Ukraine has used to strike Russian targets.
Another source said intelligence-sharing had only “partially” been cut, but was unable to provide more detail.
Washington on Monday halted military aid to Kyiv following a disastrous Oval Office meeting on Friday in which Trump and Zelenskiy engaged in a shouting match before the world’s media. The clash delayed the signing of a Ukraine-US minerals deal.
Several Democrats lambasted the intelligence-sharing suspension. Senator Mark Warner, the vice chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, said the “ill-advised decision” showed that Trump had given American power to Russia.
“Let me be clear: cutting off intelligence support to our Ukrainian partners will cost (Ukrainian) lives,” the Virginia Democrat said in a statement.
European countries are scrambling to boost defence spending and maintain support for Ukraine. France and Britain are aiming to finalise, possibly within days, a peace plan to present to the US, diplomats said.
In his address to Congress on Tuesday evening, Trump said Kyiv was ready to sign a deal on exploiting Ukraine’s critical mineral deposits, which the US leader has demanded to repay the costs of US military aid. He provided no further information.
Trump also said he had been in “serious discussions with Russia” and had received strong signals that they were ready for peace.
“It’s time to end this senseless war. If you want to end wars you have to talk to both sides,” he said.
The US has provided critical intelligence to Ukraine for its fight against Moscow’s forces, including information that helped thwart Russian President Vladimir Putin’s drive to seize Kyiv at the start of his full-scale invasion in February 2022.
But in less than two months in office, Trump has upended US policy, stunning and alienating European allies and raising concerns about the future of the Nato alliance.
Waltz told reporters yesterday morning that the US “had taken a step back” and that the administration was reviewing all aspects of its intelligence relationship with Ukraine.
“I think we’re going to see movement in very short order,” he said.
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