US Halts Intelligence Sharing with Ukraine: Implications and Reactions

President Trump has ordered a pause to intelligence sharing with Ukraine, said Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe, a move that deprives Kyiv of a key tool in fighting Russian forces.

The U.S. suspended weapons shipments to Ukraine earlier this week after an argument between Ukrainian President Zolodomyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump led to Zelenskyy leaving Washington without the mineral deal he had come there to sign.

This is another blow for the Ukrainians, as it not only weakens their position against the Russians on the battlefield, but it also signals that Washington and Kiev remain far apart on peace talks, and that Zelensky and Trump still have a ways to go to mend their personal relationship.

Mr Trump is playing a dangerous game here. While it is important to show that the US, as the nation that has kept Ukraine from capitulating, should not be dictated to, and that Europeans start paying their fair share of military aid to Ukraine, a move like this could dramatically weaken Ukraine’s bargaining position vis a vis Russia.

Maybe this is the chickens finally coming home to roost for the Europeans. After decades of taking US aid and protection for granted, while criticizing the US at the same time, maybe the US is deciding they are done doing the protecting. While this would be a reality check for Europe, this is not a good choice of action for the United States.

If Trump is not careful, the Russians could use this to make a push on the battle field, or hold out on the possible peace deal that they seemed so close to signing. And while the rest of the world’s opinion is not everything, this move seems like one to deliberately weaken Kiev, that is harder to defend than calls for Europe to contribute more.

President Trump is an expert on keeping everyone, friends and foes, guessing. So maybe this is all part of a plan to get the best peace deal for Ukraine, appear to Russia as an honest broker, and force the Europeans to contribute more. But this high risk, high reward game could also blow up in his face.