- President Donald Trump has mostly lifted the freeze on U.S. intelligence sharing with Ukraine. He said he hopes for progress during peace talks with Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia.
- The U.S. had previously stopped sharing some intelligence with Ukraine after a meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy turned negative.
- Sen. Lindsey Graham expressed concerns about suspending aid to Ukraine, warning that cutting support could result in worse consequences than the Afghanistan withdrawal.
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President Donald Trump said he largely lifted the freeze on U.S. intelligence sharing with Ukraine as he looks to broker a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One Sunday, March 9, the suspension on intel sharing is mostly over.
The president added he expects a lot of progress during the talks with Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia, which begin on Tuesday, March 11.
“We want to do anything we can to get Ukraine to be serious about getting something done,” Trump said.
Why did the U.S. stop providing intelligence to Ukraine?
The U.S. stopped providing Ukraine some intelligence that was helping its military target Russian forces. The suspension came after a meeting at the White House between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took a negative turn.
A barrage of missile attacks, some on civilian targets, by Russia in recent days prompted questions over Trump’s decision to limit assistance.
Trump acknowledged the toll of recent fighting. However, in an interview with Fox News Sunday, he said Ukraine might not be able to survive against Russia even if the U.S. went ahead with full-blown support.
“Are you comfortable with that? The fact that you walked away and Ukraine may not survive,” journalist Maria Bartiromo asked Trump.
“It may not survive anyway,” Trump replied.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he’s worried about the consequences of suspending aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine as the fighting continues against Russia.
“If we pull the plug on Ukraine, it’d be worse than Afghanistan,” Graham said. “I don’t think President Trump has any desire to do that, but until we have a ceasefire, I would give Ukraine what they need in terms of intelligence and weapons to themselves.”
Graham criticized the way Zelenskyy handled himself in the Oval Office meeting with President Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
Zelenskyy was pressing the American leaders on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s history of breaking ceasefire agreements. Zelenskyy’s comments prompted Trump and Vance to accuse the embattled leader of being ungrateful for U.S. support.
What happens next?
U.S. and Ukrainian officials are preparing to meet on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia. The groups will try to restore diplomatic ties during the meetings. This includes trying to restore the possibility of a minerals deal Zelenskyy and Trump were supposed to sign directly after their White House meeting.
