President Donald Trump has doubled down on his shift away from Ukraine by halting intelligence-sharing with the embattled nation—a day after the U.S. stopped sending military aid.
Officials told the Financial Times that Washington, D.C-Kyiv co-operation has been frozen. It had been an essential tool for the Ukrainian resistance against Russian forces, and will serve as a huge boost to Vladimir Putin.
The paper cited three officials who confirmed the news, but an official in Kyiv told Bloomberg News that intel channels were still live between the two capitals.
Trump also twisted the knife by barring U.S. allies from sharing intel with Ukraine, as reported by the Daily Mail. The decision makes it difficult for Voloymyr Zelensky’s army to carry out precision strikes against Russian targets, and will seriously hamper the war effort generally.
On the same evening that Trump made his rambling address to Congress, Russia wasted no time in taking advantage of Ukraine’s weakened defenses. A 77-year-old woman was killed in an Odesa drone strike that also left locals without power, water or heating. Meanwhile, there were no reported casualties when another drone strike targeted an apartment building in Boryspil, near Kyiv.
It comes after Trump paused military aid to Ukraine on Tuesday. The move created panic in Kyiv. One senior Ukrainian official told the Financial Times Tuesday night: “We have two to three months. After that, the position will be very difficult for us. It will not be a total collapse, but we will be forced to withdraw from some areas more quickly.”
The move also appeared to jolt Zelensky into action, as he attempted to mend the fallout of his and Trump’s heated Oval Office exchange last Friday.
Just hours after Trump paused aid, Zelensky signaled that he was ready to acquiesce to the MAGA chief’s demands. “We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive,” he said, referencing the White House spat.
He added that he’s ready to sign a U.S. minerals deal “any time and in any convenient format” to help achieve peace. He also made sure to thank the U.S. for their support, after accusations that he was not thankful enough sparked the argument with Trump and Vice President JD Vance on Friday.
In his joint session of Congress Tuesday night, Trump welcomed Zelensky’s comments and on Wednesday, Mike Waltz, U.S. national security adviser, said aid might even be restarted.
“I think if we can nail down these negotiations and move towards these negotiations, and in fact, put some confidence-building measures on the table, then the president will take a hard look at lifting this pause,” Waltz told Fox News.
