Trump puts NATO intelligence sharing at risk - Politico
Photo: US President Donald Trump (GettyImages)
The exchange of intelligence within NATO has come under threat due to Donald Trump's policies. Allies are becoming more cautious in their cooperation and trust in one another, Politico reports.
According to the media resource, the situation was already complicated due to the pro-Russian stance of Hungary and Slovakia. But after the US shift toward Russia, concerns arose about whether it was safe to share intelligence with Washington.
In particular, these doubts intensified after reports that the US had temporarily halted intelligence-sharing with Ukraine in an attempt to force Kyiv to sit down at the negotiating table with Russia.
According to Politico, former US Ambassador to NATO Julie Smith raised concerns about the future of intelligence-sharing within the Alliance.
Meanwhile, a former official at Canada’s Foreign Intelligence Service CSIS Daniel Stanton said that NATO now needs more intelligence, but will actually receive less. According to him, the consensus on who the common enemy is is disappearing, meaning that “at a time when they actually need more intelligence, there will be less going into it.”
"After the catastrophic meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump at the White House on Friday, of course, a lot of questions have arisen," said one current NATO official.
According to another official, despite the "erosion of trust due to US policy on Ukraine," NATO still believes that Trump has no serious objections to the Alliance, apart from financing issues.
At the same time, Politico notes that joint intelligence efforts could be crucial. In particular, the US declassification of information about Russia's preparations for the 2022 invasion of Ukraine helped unite allies and strengthen Kyiv’s defenses. However, now, due to Trump's "political shift," the future role of the US in intelligence cooperation is in question.
Suspension of US intelligence-sharing with Ukraine
The day before, media reports indicated that the US had stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine for strikes on Russian territory but was still providing data for strikes on Russian positions in occupied Ukrainian territories.
Later, reports emerged of a complete halt to intelligence-sharing. However, sources in Ukraine’s military circles told RBC-Ukraine that no changes in intelligence exchange between the countries had taken place.
The CIA director confirmed the total suspension of weapons supplies and intelligence-sharing with Ukraine.
Thus, the Trump administration is trying to forcibly push Ukraine to the negotiating table with Russia to accelerate the end of the war. At the same time, strict demands are being placed exclusively on official Kyiv, not on Moscow.
