The US did not restrict access to intelligence that Ukraine needs for defense.
This was confirmed by the US President Donald Trumpʼs special representative for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Reuters reports.
He also stressed that the US expects significant progress in negotiations with Ukraine this week. Witkoff noted that during the meeting between US and Ukrainian representatives, security protocols for Ukrainians and territorial issues will be on the negotiating table.
He also hopes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will return to the United States to sign a minerals deal this week. He said that “all the signs are very, very positive”.
Stopping aid to Ukraine
Bloomberg, citing its own sources, reported on March 4 that the US President Donald Trump has ordered the suspension of all military aid to Kyiv, including that currently on the way. This is supposedly to put pressure on Volodymyr Zelensky after their dispute at the White House on February 28.
On the same day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky instructed to receive official information from the United States about the suspension of military aid to Ukraine.
After that, during his address to the US Congress, Trump did not announce the suspension of military aid to Ukraine. According to him, he received an “important letter” from Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump was referring to the letter of the Ukrainian president, where he noted that Ukraine was ready to sit down at the negotiating table as soon as possible.
WSJ reported that the military aid freeze will remain in effect until Trump determines that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky supports peace talks with Russia. It is unclear whether Zelenskyʼs statement will be enough to convince Trump to restore US military aid to Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported. The administration says the freeze will remain in effect until the parties set a date for peace talks with Russia.
At the same time, on March 6, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov noted that Ukraine has not yet received detailed information about the restrictions on intelligence sharing with the United States. He said that Ukraine is already working on alternatives. In particular, intelligence data can also be provided by other allied countries.
- The American and Ukrainian delegations will meet in Saudi Arabia on March 12. This will be the first high-level meeting between the countries since the dispute between Presidents Trump and Zelensky at the White House.
- The Americans will be represented by the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House Special Representative for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, and the National Security Advisor to the the US President Mike Waltz. Ukraine will be represented by Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak, Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Andriy Sybiha, Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov, and Deputy Head of the Office of the President Pavlo Palisa.
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