A suspension of military aid in Ukraine … but also of the sharing of information. The United States has “paused” the sharing of intelligence with kyiv, said CIA chief John Ratcliffe on Wednesday March 5. This announcement comes after the decision made Monday, March 3 by the administration of Donald Trump to suspend military aid deliveries to Ukraine and intervenes after an altercation between the American president and the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, Friday, February 28 in the oval office.
The American executive has decided to suspend help from Ukraine “on the military front and on the intelligence front,” said John Ratcliffe on the Fox Business channel. “We fell, and we suspend and review all aspects” of the relationship with Ukraine, said the press advisor to the White House, Mike Waltz. However, this break could be short -lived if the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky complies with the requirements of Donald Trump. It is also unknown at this stage what are the exceptions to this decision.
Information sharing is very useful for Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield. The American decision, beyond embedded Moscow and restoring morale to Russian soldiers, could therefore hinder the ability of the Ukrainian army to target enemy forces and facilitate the task of Moscow to attack the Ukrainian defense lines, according to analysts interviewed by The New York Times.
The breakdown in the sharing of information would include the stopping of targeting data that UKRAINE agencies provide to Ukraine so that it can launch weapons provided by the United States and long-range drones on Russian targets, Ukrainian officials said At Washington Post.
However, the most crucial role of American intelligence services may have been to allow precision strikes on the territories controlled by Russia. Hitting “static targets like factories or oil power plants” was “something we could do ourselves,” said At the Financial Times (FT) Pavlo Narozhny, a Ukrainian military analyst. “But it is probably thanks to the help of the American intelligence services that we were able to hit command centers, kill generals,” he said.
Real -time information on enemy movements
The will of the Trump administration constitutes a major reversal compared to the approach of the Biden administration. This has implemented special systems aimed at sharing large amounts of Russian military forces with Ukraine. If the extent of the American support for Ukrainian intelligence services is classified, this information sharing would go from strategic information on the general intentions of Russia to tactical information on targeting sets and Russian countermeasures such as shrouking and lure devices, said At Washington Post A former American official.
According to the latter, aware of the information sharing agreements between the United States and Ukraine, Washington’s goal was to help kyiv improve the accuracy of its strikes but also to compensate for the fact that its army is smaller and its arsenal more limited. “All of this was essential to protect what the Ukrainians had because they had less than the Russians,” said this ex-responsible to the American daily.
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Analysts believe that American aid has enabled kyiv to receive real -time information on the movements of the enemy. “At the operational level, to observe the movements of the forces for example, the satellites are of great help and the American capacities are really important,” said At the Financial Times Mykhailo Samus, a Ukrainian military expert. As the British daily specifies, American intelligence services also play a role in the early alert system against Russian missiles and drone raids in Ukrainian energy cities and infrastructure.
In addition, according to The Washington Postwithout the information provided by Washington, Ukraine could theoretically always be able to use the sophisticated air defense system Patriot and other systems, but with probably less efficiency.
Paris “gives” kyiv to benefit “
According to THE Daily Mail And The Financial Timesthe United States has also formed its allies to share American information with Ukraine. “If the United States is not coming back soon to this decision, it will become really difficult for Ukrainians because it will remove their advantage on the battlefield,” said a senior Western official with the FT.
Questioned by the British daily newspaper, a spokesperson for Ukrainian military intelligence services refused to comment on the impact of an interruption of the American intelligence services on their work. “We have a plan B,” they said earlier this week. Even several? Europeans are indeed present in the field of intelligence sharing, in particular the French, as indicated this Thursday, March 6, Sébastien Lecornu. “Our information is sovereign […] With capacities that are our own, “said the French Minister of the Armed Forces on France Inter.” We benefit the Ukrainians. “, He added, without specifying how long it was.
“In intelligence, the Americans have a gigantic weight, but their help was mainly precious at the start of the war,” nuanced on Wednesday with the Express Xavier Tytelman, aeronautical and defense expert. “Of course, this American announcement will cause a lack of information for Ukraine, but this lack is less difficult to fill than a year ago,” he said. In addition, as he recalls, Ukrainians also have “effective intelligence networks, especially in occupied areas”. Without additional American help but with the help of Europe, both in terms of weapons and information, Ukraine could continue the fight throughout the summer, specifies The New York Times. What will the United States decide by then? The unpredictable Donald Trump may not know him himself.