President Donald Trump‘s pause on the sharing of critical intelligence with Ukraine significantly hampers Kyiv’s ability to employ the U.S.-supplied rocket systems on the battlefield.
Newsweek has contacted the foreign ministries of Russia and Ukraine for comment by email.
Why It Matters
The intelligence freeze includes targeting data for HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems)—which require precise map grid coordinates to operate—thereby diminishing Ukraine’s ability to conduct precision attacks.
The demand for American defense systems could also be hit, if foreign government buyers cannot rely on them.
What We Know
CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed on Wednesday that the U.S. had stopped providing Ukraine with real-time targeting data, which has been instrumental in its military operations.
The move is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky into negotiations aimed at ending the war which was started by Russia when it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
But a senior Ukrainian official told The New York Times that Ukraine still has access to other satellite imagery to guide its attacks.
The White House’s decision has drawn widespread criticism from observers of the conflict. Many have warned the move could have major repercussions for U.S. arms trade, as allies may hesitate to rely on Washington for sustained military support.
What People Are Saying
CIA Director John Ratcliffe said on Fox Business on Wednesday: “President Zelensky put out a statement that said, ‘I am ready for peace, and I want President Donald Trump’s leadership to bring about that peace.’ 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.”
The Economist‘s Oliver Carroll said on Wednesday on X (formerly Twitter): “America cut a key intel link for alerts at 2 p.m. Kyiv. Before that: targeting data for HIMARS. Ukraine also isn’t receiving real-time information for long-range strikes.”
Valeriy Kondratiuk, the former head of Ukrainian intelligence agency HUR, told The New York Times: “Everything that came from the Defense Department has stopped. This mostly concerns the exchange of imagery. This isn’t critical because European companies have their own satellites, but not all these are focused on military dislocation and movements, which is important.”
Yaroslav Trofimov, chief foreign affairs correspondent at The Wall Street Journal, said on X: “Did anyone think this through? Some two-thirds of European defense procurement is spent on American weapons. If the U.S. indeed switched off the targeting of HIMARS in Ukraine—a country fighting a war that not just Kyiv, but most of Europe, consider existential—buying any American technology will soon be considered a security risk.”
Kim Willsher, a foreign correspondent for The Guardian based in Paris, said on X: “Who is going to buy American military hardware in future if the U.S. can do this?”
What Happens Next
Ratcliffe and national security adviser, Michael Waltz, have suggested that intelligence sharing may resume if Ukraine demonstrates a willingness to engage in peace talks.
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