CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirms US ‘pause’ in intelligence sharing with Kyiv amid tensions between allies.
The US has suspended intelligence sharing with Kyiv in a transfer that might severely limit the Ukrainian navy’s capacity to strike Russian forces.
The cut-off comes after the US suspended navy help to Ukraine amid a dramatic collapse in relations between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
For the reason that begin of the warfare in 2022, the US has offered Ukraine with vital intelligence, together with essential data its navy wants for concentrating on functions.
It was not instantly clear to what extent the US had lower off the sharing.
In an interview with Fox Enterprise broadcast on Wednesday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed the US “pause” in assist.
“I feel on the navy entrance and the intelligence entrance, the pause [that prompted Ukraine’s president to respond] I feel will go away,” Ratcliffe stated.
“I feel we’ll work shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine as we now have to push again on the aggression that’s there, however to place the world in a greater place for these peace negotiations to maneuver ahead,” he stated.
US-Ukraine relations broke down dramatically final week when Zelenskyy and Trump clashed within the White Home on Friday, however there have been some indicators of an enchancment this week.
Trump on Tuesday stated he acquired a letter from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wherein the Ukrainian chief expressed willingness to enter negotiations over Russia’s warfare on Ukraine.
Zelenskyy stated within the letter that he was “prepared to return to the negotiating desk as quickly as doable to convey lasting peace nearer”.
“We do actually worth how a lot America has completed to assist Ukraine keep its sovereignty and independence,” he wrote.
For the reason that warfare started in February 2022, the US has despatched roughly $86bn to Ukraine in navy help, in accordance with the Centre for Strategic and Worldwide Research.
When requested how the Kremlin seen Zelenskyy’s letter, spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated “positively”.
“The query is who to take a seat down with. For now, the Ukrainian president continues to be legally prohibited from negotiating with the Russian facet. So, general, the strategy is constructive, however the nuances haven’t modified but,” Peskov stated, referring to a Zelenskyy decree in 2022 that dominated out negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Nonetheless, Zelenskyy has repeatedly stated he could be prepared to fulfill Putin, however solely after Kyiv and its allies agree on a standard negotiating place.
On Wednesday, White Home Nationwide Safety Adviser Mike Waltz stated that Trump would take into account restoring help to Ukraine if talks to finish the warfare are organized.
In an interview with Fox, Waltz stated the letter was a “good, constructive first step”.
“I feel if we will nail down these negotiations and transfer in direction of these negotiations, and actually, put some confidence-building measures on the desk, then the president will take a tough take a look at lifting this pause,” he stated with out elaborating on the confidence-building measures.
“Now we have to know that either side are sincerely negotiating in direction of a partial, then a everlasting, peace,” he added.
