The United States has warned the Ukrainian embassy in Washington that it will stop sharing intelligence in the event of new attacks on Russian energy facilities. The warning was sent to Ukrainian military officials and included a threat to immediately stop the exchange, The Washington Post reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.
According to the publication, American officials have also issued warnings to Ukrainian commanders. They were connected to the attacks on Russian oil refineries and other energy infrastructure. The source claims that the warnings were distributed to a wide range of Ukrainian officials.
Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed to NPR that Ukrainian generals have received threats about a possible suspension of intelligence sharing. According to him, the warning was conveyed to the military, and not to him personally. Zelensky specified that the measure had not yet been implemented.
There is currently a discrepancy between the public statement of the US president and the information about the behind-the-scenes warnings. According to The Washington Post, the exchange of intelligence has not been completely stopped, but the threat remains in force. The White House and the Pentagon have not publicly announced that the measure has been implemented.
Kiev reported no warning
Tensions around intelligence sharing have increased after Russian strikes on Kiev and other Ukrainian cities. Ukrainian authorities said they had not received advance warning from their partners for the first ballistic missile attack.
“Again, there was no advance warning from our partners“, Zelensky wrote after the attack. The Ukrainian Air Force later clarified that warnings of ballistic missile launches had been received for the next three waves of the attack.
According to the data presented by Zelensky, Russia used 39 ballistic missiles and more than 120 attack drones. Six energy facilities were hit, including major power plants in Kiev. About 600,000 people were left without electricity, and a power supply regime and restrictions on some electric transport were introduced in the capital.
The dispute began after the announced “energy truce“
On October 11, Trump announced that Russia and Ukraine had agreed not to attack the energy infrastructure of both countries. Zelensky said that he learned about the agreement from the US president's post on social networks, and the Kremlin did not officially confirm that Moscow had made such a commitment.
Sources: washingtonpost.com, apnews.com