Trump's intelligence chief ordered halt to intelligence sharing on Russia-Ukraine peace talks among 'Five Eye' allies, CBS reports
The Trump administration's Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard ordered on July 20 that the U.S. intelligence community halt the sharing of information on ongoing Russia-Ukraine peace talks with so-called "Five Eyes" countries, CBS News reported on Aug. 21.
U.S. intelligence sources told CBS News that Gabbard signed a directive barring the sharing of information with the Five Eye alliance, which includes the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, and New Zealand.
The directive limited the distribution of intelligence to information that had already been publicly released, and compartmentalized intelligence on peace talks within agencies where the intelligence originated from, according to CBS News.
The directive also does not prohibit the sharing of information obtained through diplomatic means, nor does it affect information sharing on U.S. military planning, including aid to Ukraine.
No rationale was provided for the decision, as peace talks between Russia and Ukraine — brokered by the United States — continue. The White House did not respond to the news agency's request for comment on the matter.
U.S. President Donald continues to attempt to broker peace between Moscow and Kyiv setting out in recent days to broker bilateral talks between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The renewed attempts come days after a meeting between Putin and the U.S. president in Anchorage, Alaska, followed by Zelensky's visit to the White House.
In recent days, Western allies, including member of the so-called "Coalition of the Willing," have pushed to establish security guarantees for Kyiv, with the backing of U.S. support. With the exception of Washington, all Five Eye nations are apart of the 31-nation Coalition of the Willing.
Gabbard has previously been intertwined with matters related to the war in Ukraine, after the U.S. halted intelligence sharing with Ukraine on March 5. The decision, which was reversed soon after, followed a heated exchange between Trump and Zelensky in the White House on Feb. 28.
Gabbard has previously stirred controversy with her comments on Ukraine, having echoed in early 2022 Russian President Vladimir Putin's justification for the invasion of Ukraine, attributing the cause not to Moscow but to the Biden administration's failure to acknowledge "Russia’s legitimate security concerns."
