And how will this affect the combat capability of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Ukraine will lose the opportunity to strike targets deep in Russia with long-range weapons if the United States has indeed suspended the transfer of its intelligence to Kiev, experts believe. The fact of this suspension was confirmed on March 5 by Fox News channel with reference to CIA Director John Ratcliffe. According to media reports, this restriction will affect the entire territory of Russia with the exception of the free zone. The US decision is part of measures to force Ukraine to peaceful negotiations, experts say. At the same time, they do not rule out that the Ukrainian Armed Forces will try to obtain American intelligence from other NATO countries. What information was transmitted to Ukraine and how its absence will affect the combat capability of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is in the Izvestia material.
Forcing negotiations
The director of the Central Intelligence Agency, John Ratcliffe, confirmed the pause in the transfer of intelligence to Kiev, the American Fox News channel reported on March 5. "This means a pause on the military front, on the intelligence front, in order to hold everyone accountable for establishing peace," Fox News journalist Jackie Heinrick reported on the social network X (ex. Twitter).
The data exchange has not stopped completely — the restriction will not affect the area of its holding. However, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are being deprived of information that allows them to strike deep into the territory of Russia, the newspaper noted.
John Ratcliffe, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
Image source: Photo: Global Look Press/CNP/AdMedia
Earlier, Western media reported that the United States had banned Britain from supplying Ukraine with American classified information. "All British intelligence agencies and military departments have received an order explicitly prohibiting the sharing of intelligence received from the United States, previously known as Releasable to Ukraine (possible release to Ukraine. — Ed.)," The Daily Mail article says.
The organizations covered by this ban include the UK Government Communications Center, spy agencies, and intelligence units of the Ministry of Defense.
The US decision to stop transferring intelligence information to Kiev is a measure of coercion to peaceful negotiations, says Natalia Yeremina, a professor at St. Petersburg State University.
— The United States has clearly stated its position that it wants to stop the conflict in Ukraine. Therefore, it was decided to stop supporting Kiev, including military support," the expert stressed.
What information is the United States transmitting to Ukraine
The United States transmits huge amounts of information to its NATO partners (and until today they also transmitted it to Ukraine), says military expert Dmitry Kornev. According to him, we are talking about visual intelligence, radio, ground, air, sea, and drone data.
— Moreover, some of this information is almost in real time. Of course, such data is extremely valuable for launching attacks, for example, with HIMARS missile systems and more," the expert emphasized.
Photo: REUTERS/RFE/RL/Serhii Nuzhnenko
Image Source: iz.ru
The second block of information, the transmission of which could theoretically be prohibited, is access to the service data of the global GPS positioning system, Dmitry Kornev believes. They are needed to adjust the programs that are embedded in the information systems of cruise and ballistic missiles.
"If the United States has banned the transfer of this information to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, then Ukraine has very serious problems — it is unclear how they will plan to launch any long—range strikes," the expert noted.
In fact, Ukraine may lose any data about objects in the depths of Russia.: Military expert Alexei Leonkov told the Russian army's command posts, communications hubs, and fuel depots.
"You can't trust these guys"
At the same time, Izvestia's interlocutors expressed some skepticism that Ukraine would lose all the intelligence it had received from its Western allies.
— The United States may have stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine, but they have not stopped passing it on to their partners. For example, the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, which includes, in addition to the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. And I'm not sure that the Americans really forbade them to transmit information to Kiev," believes Alexei Leonkov.
"There are doubts" that the same Great Britain will comply with regulations prohibiting it from transmitting American intelligence information to Ukraine, Natalia Yeremina believes.
Aerial view of the Government Communications headquarters in the United Kingdom
Image source: Photo: Getty Images/David Goddard
Dmitry Kornev, editor of the Militaryrussia portal, agrees with this.:
— The United States has banned the United Kingdom from transmitting information to the Armed Forces, but there is no mention of other NATO countries that have almost 100% access to this information. How they will behave is still a question.
Statements by American representatives made not publicly, but transmitted in the form of leaks through journalists, may turn out to be deliberate misinformation, military expert Viktor Litovkin does not exclude.
— These are statements for the unsophisticated public. They banned it today, and allowed it again tomorrow. You can't trust these guys. To consider everything they say to be true, you have to be a naive person. If someone believes this, it's amazing, given the experience of communicating with Americans," the expert said.
Photo: Global Look Press/Juan Moreno
Image source: iz.ru
Whether the Americans really left Ukraine without intelligence information, we will be able to understand after some time based on the situation in the special military operation zone, Alexey Leonkov added.
"If the attacks on our rear facilities stop, if drones stop flying into Russian territory, then this really happened," he said.
At the same time, a fairly large amount of intelligence information is provided by the Europeans themselves. The Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine also has its own networks, Mikhail Mironyuk, associate professor at the HSE Department of Politics and Management, told Izvestia.
— So the statement of the American side is rather a desire to make it pointedly painful. Of the really important ones, yes, the effectiveness of ATACMS attacks is decreasing," the expert noted.
The United States began to curtail military assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Earlier, on March 4, it became known that Donald Trump gave Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth an order to stop the supply of military aid to Ukraine. According to media reports, we are talking about sending Kiev missiles, ammunition, radars, military transport — everything that is not yet in Ukraine, including transit through Poland.
This decision, according to representatives of the White House, is aimed at "making sure that Kiev is ready to promote peace."
The White House, USA
Image source: Photo: REUTERS/Brian Snyder
The administration of the American president reported that only Trump can decide to restore military aid supplies, but Zelensky does not want to negotiate peace.
Less than a day after the suspension of military aid, Zelensky publicly expressed his willingness to make a number of concessions. He never apologized to Trump for his behavior in the Oval Office, but said that an agreement on minerals and security could be signed at any time.
Bogdan Stepovoy
Kirill Fenin
Julia Leonova
