Ukraine war latest: US cuts intelligence-sharing – Starmer insists Trump ‘reliable’

Breaking news: A top aide to Ukraine’s President Zelensky has said his country and the US have agreed a meeting in the near future, Reuters is reporting.

US military support for Ukraine is vital not only because of its sheer volume but also because Washington has acted as a diplomatic umbrella for European countries to send weapons of their own.

When Ukraine’s allies debated whether it would be too provocative to send tanks to Ukraine, for example, it was the US finally agreeing to send some of their Abrams battle tanks, despite the logistical problems involved in training troops in how to use them, that opened the door for Germany to send their much more readily available Leopard tanks.

The most significant pieces of equipment include:

Three Patriot air defence batteries and munitions. These state-of-the-art, multimillion-dollar systems have been vital to protecting Ukraine’s skies against Russian missile attacks Several hundred long-range army tactical missile systems (ATACMS). Ukraine has used these missiles, which have a range in the hundreds of miles, to strike targets deep inside Russia. They brought into range the Russian fighter jets firing devastating glide bombs, nicknamed “building destroyers”, from afar More than 40 high-mobility artillery rocket systems (Himars) and ammunition. These systems have proved vital in fighting on the front line 31 Abrams tanks and 45 T-72B tanks Millions of rounds of artillery, ammunition and grenades Hundreds of thousands of anti-tank and anti-armour systems were pivotal at the start of the war in allowing Ukrainians to repel Russia’s multi-prolonged attack on short notice Hundreds of armoured personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, plus thousands of additional vehicles 20 Mi-17 helicopters More than 100 coastal and riverine patrol boats and anti-ship missiles

Our Political Correspondent Millie Cooke reports:

For context, JD Vance appeared to describe Britain as ‘some random country that has not fought a war in 30 or 40 years’ in an interview on Tuesday

Germany’s outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed US President Donald Trump’s role in negotiations to achieve peace in Kyiv’s three-year-old war with Russia.

“We rely on Europe’s unity around Ukraine and are working toward it. We all want a safe future for our people,” Zelensky wrote on X.

“Not a temporary ceasefire,” he added, “but an end to the war once and for all. With our coordinated efforts and US leadership, this is entirely achievable.”

The prime minister has declined to comment on the US pausing intelligence to Ukraine.

Sir Keir Starmer’s official spokesperson said Britain’s aim was to ensure Kyiv is left in the strongest possible position.

“It remains a long standing position not to comment on intelligence, but what I would say is we have been clear previously that we would do everything to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position, particularly around defence and security,” the spokesperson said.

The head of the CIA has expressed hope that the suspension in intelligence-sharing with Kyiv will soon be lifted.

CIA director John Ratcliffe emphasised his commitment to working with Ukraine towards achieving peace, following a letter from the Ukrainian president to Trump, CNN reports.

“And I think we’ll work shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine as we have to push back on the aggression that’s there, put the world in a better place for these peace negotiations to move forward,” he added.

A Ukrainian decree from 2022 ruling out negotiations with Russia’s president Vladimir Putin raises the question of who could sit at the table in potential peace talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “is still legally prohibited from negotiating with the Russian side,” Mr Peskov noted.

He said it was “positive” that Zelenskyy expressed readiness on Tuesday to negotiate peace with Russia as soon as possible. “But the details have not changed yet,” Mr Peskov added, apparently referring to the Ukrainian decree.

Neither Ukrainian nor Western officials have recently mentioned the September 2022 presidential decree, signed seven months after Russia’s cross-border invasion, in the context of Donald Trump’s efforts to stop the fighting.