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President Donald Trump and CIA Director John Ratcliffe
President Donald Trump and CIA Director John Ratcliffe
CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed Wednesday the US stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine after President Trump paused military aid to Kyiv amid its three-year war with Russia.
Trump prevented further military aid from flowing to Ukraine on Monday after his public feud with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office over a joint economic investment with Kyiv on rare-earth minerals.
The president booted Ukraine's leader from the White House on Friday before the agreement was signed.
Trump "asked for a pause" on both military aid and intelligence, Ratcliffe told Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo, because he questioned whether Zelensky "was committed to the peace process."
© SAUL LOEB / AFPZelensky, Trump and Vance got into a heated argument in the Oval Office on Friday. 3 Zelensky, Trump and Vance got into a heated argument in the Oval Office on Friday, Begruary 28, 2025.
While the US may have halted sharing intelligence, the Ukrainians have not stopped feeding information to American officials, according to a source familiar with the matter.
As of last week, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard had yet to reach out to Chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine's Defense Ministry Kyrylo Budanov, he told The Post.
The Ukrainian president sent a letter to Trump on Tuesday saying Ukraine is ready to for peace — something Trump and Vice President JD Vance were waiting for after claiming Zelensky "disrespected" the US for not being "thankful" enough and wanted to engage in diplomatic discussions before members of the White House press.
"You saw the response — that president Zelensky put out a statement saying 'I'm ready for peace and I want Donald Trump's leadership to bring about that peace,'" the CIA director said.
Ratcliffe said he thinks pause "will go away" and "we will work shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine as we have to push back on the aggression that's there."
Comment: Though the move may be temporary, it made the point as to just how dependent Ukraine is on US intelligence assets. Without the US, their military is almost blind.
National security adviser Mike Waltz indicated Wednesday morning the aid can be unpaused once peace talks are scheduled between Ukraine and Russia.
"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.
Comment: Could there be a more mixed message to Russia? "Once Ukraine is ready to negotiate for peace, we'll send them more military aid."
Ukraine had been relying on US intelligence in its war with Russia since 2022. The technology allowed the Ukrainian military to track Russian military moves, and the pause could seriously hamper Kyiv's military maneuvers.
It is unclear when the US will turn back on the intelligence sharing.
Trump, in his Tuesday speech before Congress, said he "appreciated" the letter he received from Zelensky — but set no date for a face-to-face meeting to get relations back on track.
Ukrainian officials have said they can hold off Russian forces without US support — but only until the summer.
Comment: Let it be noted that:1) the letter contained nothing approaching an apology for Zelensky's atrocious behavior in the Oval Office, and 2) renewed whining (though more subtly) for a "security agreement". The consensus is that the Brits wrote it for him.. Zelensky doesn't do apologies.
Political commentator Alexander Mercouris expands on the mess: