US President Donald Trump denied that Washington had stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine, following reports that his administration had threatened to cut it off over Kyiv’s strikes on Russian oil refineries.
Trump made the remarks on Tuesday, Oct. 13 while speaking to reporters in Alaska, Interfax-Ukraine reported. Asked whether the US had halted intelligence support for Ukraine, he simply denied.
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“We are helping them,” Trump said, adding that the US wants the war to end.
The White House gave a less direct answer the same day.
Asked by reporters whether intelligence sharing had stopped, new White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharias said she’d “have to get back to that.”
Reports of US pressure over refinery strikes
Concerns about intelligence sharing grew after media reports that US presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had warned Ukrainian negotiators during talks in Miami that Washington could suspend intelligence sharing should Kyiv continue targeting Russia’s energy infrastructure.
A person familiar with the talks also told Reuters that the US had raised the possibility of restricting weapons purchases through the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), a mechanism under which European allies buy American arms for Ukraine.
US NATO Ambassador Matthew Whitaker reiterated on Tuesday there had been “no change” to arms deliveries to Ukraine through PURL.
Missile attack without an early warning
The question took on new urgency after Russia fired about six ballistic missiles at Kyiv around 10 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 12, hitting transport and warehouse facilities in several districts.
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Major General Ilya Pavlenko, former deputy head of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (HUR), said the system could let Russia steer jet drones in real time.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine had not received a warning about the launches from its partners, and the Air Force said the missiles were detected only once the attack was underway.
Speaking at the Warsaw Security Forum on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha confirmed that cooperation with Washington continues.
“You are probably asking me if we are receiving intelligence data from the American side. Yes, we continue this cooperation,” Sybiha said.
He acknowledged that the air raid alert was issued late but attributed the delay to the type of weapon Russia used, rather than to any interruption in US intelligence.
Neither Sybiha nor Trump disclosed whether the scope of intelligence sharing had changed.
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