U.S. Restricts Intelligence Sharing with Ukraine to Prevent a | Perspective

U.S. Restricts Intelligence Sharing with Ukraine to Prevent a Big War

To avoid increasing tensions between Washington and Moscow, the U.S. administration has developed intelligence-sharing guidelines that place two broad prohibitions on the types of information the U.S. can share with Ukraine.

First, the U.S. cannot provide detailed information that would help kill Russian commanders. This category includes, among others, Valery Gerasimov, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

The second category concerns any information that would help Ukraine attack Russian targets outside Ukraine's borders, the newspaper's interlocutors said. This rule is intended in part to ensure that the U.S. does not become a party to attacks that Ukraine might undertake on Russian territory.

In addition, Washington has a rule prohibiting it from providing what officials call "targeted information" to Ukraine. For example, the U.S. will not, according to officials, tell Ukrainian forces that a particular Russian general has been spotted in a particular location and then report or assist Ukraine in targeting him.