 "Days after Trump-Zelenskyy spat, US stops intelligence sharing with Ukraine: Report")
CIA director John Ratcliffe on Wednesday confirmed that US has cut off intelligence to Ukraine, but suggested it was limited in scope and temporary to force sides back into negotiations.
He said US President Donald Trump ordered that intelligence cooperation with Ukraine be halted as well as military aid.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe just told @MariaBartiromo U.S. paused weapons shipments AND intelligence to Ukraine in the fallout of meeting in the Oval Office. Ratcliffe says he looks forward to lifting the pause and working with Ukraine towards peace following the letter to POTUS
— Edward Lawrence (@EdwardLawrence) March 5, 2025
“What President Trump said is, he asked for a pause. As I mentioned, President Trump is the peace president, (there has) never been a war under his leadership, (and) he wants to end the wars that exist,” Ratcliffe told Fox Business Network.
“And so in this case, as everyone saw play out, president Trump had a real question about whether president Zelenskyy was committed to the peace process, and he said: let’s pause, I want to give you a chance to think about that,” he added.
Ratcliffe said President Zelenskyy issued a statement expressing his readiness for peace and his desire for Donald Trump’s leadership to facilitate that process.
“And so I think on the military front and the intelligence front, the pause that allowed that to happen, I think will go away, and I think we’ll work shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine as we have to push back on the aggression that’s there, but (it was needed) to put the world in a better place for these peace negotiations to move forward,” Ratcliffe said.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsAccording to a Sky News report, citing a Ukrainian source, American intelligence-sharing has not halted completely.
The source described the move as “selective”, indicating that this meant US intelligence would still be shared with Ukraine that could be used to attack Russian forces on Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory, added the report.
The dramatic collapse of Kyiv and Washington’s wartime alliance has played out in the open since the televised dispute in the Oval Office last week, followed by Ukraine’s top ally suspending crucial military aid.
During the Oval Office meeting on Friday, Vice President JD Vance accused Zelenskyy of being ungrateful for US support, while Trump berated the wartime leader as not having “cards” to play.
Zelenskyy left without signing a proposed agreement that would grant the US control over Ukrainian mineral resources.
Trump halt to military aid to Ukraine marked another shift in US policy as he adopts a more conciliatory approach toward Russia.
A day after the pause, Trump announced he had received a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicating a willingness to negotiate.
With inputs from agencies
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