CIA Director John Ratcliffe said that President Donald Trump has ordered intelligence cooperation with Ukraine and military aid to be halted, reports Al Jazeera.
“Trump had a real question about whether President Zelensky was committed to the peace process, and he said let’s pause,” Ratcliffe told Fox Business’ in an interview on Wednesday.
“I want to give a chance to think about that and you saw the response that President Zelensky put out,” Ratcliffe added, “So I think on the military front and the intelligence front, the pause that allowed that to happen, I think will go away.”
The CIA director expressed hope that the pause will soon be lifted and emphasized his commitment to working with Ukraine towards achieving peace, following a letter from the Ukrainian president to Trump.
“And I think we’ll work shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine as we have to push back on the aggression that’s there, put the world in a better place for these peace negotiations to move forward,” he added, reports CNN.
A senior US military official said the US has already curtailed some intelligence sharing, including carrying out fewer intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance flights that could impact both offensive and defensive operations including air defense, since Ukraine depends on US intelligence for overwatch.
In the lead up to Trump’s inauguration, Ratcliffe and the Trump transition team were told of the value of intelligence sharing with Ukraine by US officials who stressed that it was a hallmark of their achievements on the battlefield, according to a source familiar with the discussions.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
