US suspends aid to Ukraine and intelligence sharing, - CIA Director Ratcliffe
CIA Director John Ratcliffe has confirmed that the United States has suspended arms sales and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
He said this to Fox News, Censor.NET reports.
He was asked whether the statements about the suspension of military aid were true.
Ratcliffe confirmed, referring to "a pause on the military front, on the intelligence front, to hold everyone accountable for ensuring peace around the world."
According to him, this decision was made in the United States after Zelenskyy and Trump met in the Oval Office.
The CIA director added that he "looks forward to lifting the pause and working with Ukraine on the path to peace after the letter to the US president."
The Financial Times reports that the United States has frozen intelligence sharing with Kyiv.
Two officials confirmed to the FT that the move follows the Trump administration's decision on Monday to suspend military aid to Ukraine and comes after a sharp deterioration in relations between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
But one official said that the US continues to share intelligence on Russia and Ukraine with its closest allies, including the UK.
Stopping sharing data with Ukraine could severely hamper the Ukrainian military's ability to identify and hit Russian military targets, the Financial Times adds.
What preceded it?
The British tabloid Daily Mail wrote that the United States had stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine.
However, Suspilne, citing a knowledgeable source, claims that as of March 5, intelligence sharing continues.
Suspension of US assistance
On the morning of March 4, it became known that US President Donald Trump had ordered the suspension of all US military aid to Ukraine in order to force Kyiv to demonstrate a "good faith commitment" to peace.
One U.S. official told CNN that the consequences of the suspension of U.S. military aid will be felt in some time. Perhaps a few days or weeks. However, as soon as the stockpiles of weapons and armaments begin to run out, the country will face serious consequences.
According to journalist Ostap Yarysh, the US decision to suspend aid to Ukraine will primarily affect the supply of missiles to air defense and ammunition for HIMARS and artillery.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tahkna emphasized that the US decision to temporarily suspend military aid to Ukraine means that Europe must help Ukraine more and faster than before to fill this gap.
The Economist article says that the US decision to suspend aid to Ukraine will lead to more casualties and destruction. The critical elements, the newspaper writes, are weapons, their repair, air defense missiles, the Starlink system, and, perhaps most importantly, intelligence sharing.
Chief National Security Advisor to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, Marius Česnulevičius, said that Washington's decision to suspend military aid to Ukraine was not a surprise. However, Europe is preparing a response.
Later, The Economist wrote that there is currently no official order from Donald Trump to suspend military aid to Ukraine.
