Political commentators have blamed the U.S.’s decision to stop sharing intelligence with Ukraine for a Russian missile strike that hit a hotel in Kryvyi Rih where Americans were staying.
Newsweek reached out to the CIA for comment via a form on their website outside of business hours.
Uncredited, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Serhiy Lysak/Associated Press
Why It Matters
The U.S.’s decision to stop sharing intelligence with Kyiv has not only worsened relations with Kyiv but also increased tensions with Europe, which has previously been critical of President Donald Trump’s conduct in mediating Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations.
Without U.S. intelligence, Ukraine will likely be prone to suffering more attacks with high casualties, as Kyiv may not be able to identify incoming missile and drone threats and, in turn, prepare for attacks.
What To Know
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media platform Telegram that a Russian missile struck a hotel in central Ukraine on Wednesday night and that it claimed the lives of four people and injured more than 30. He wrote that just before the strike, volunteers from a humanitarian organization from the U.S., U.K. and Ukraine checked into the hotel.
Zelensky added that many civilian facilities adjacent to the hotel were damaged in the strike.
The Ukrainian, British and American volunteers managed to survive the strike by escaping in time, according to both Zelensky and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
Kryvyi Rih has been one of Moscow’s frequent targets throughout the war as it is the Ukrainian president’s hometown, according to Reuters.
The strike swiftly followed the U.S.’s announcement that it has banned its allies, including the U.K., from sharing American intelligence with Ukraine, jeopardizing Kyiv’s ability to coordinate strikes against Russian aggression.
Speaking to Fox News, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said that the U.S.’s move, as well as its pause on the provision of military aid, could be lifted if Washington works with Kyiv toward peace.
Although allies will be prevented from sharing U.S. intelligence, assets inside Ukraine will likely continue to do so. This U.S.-generated information passed on within the country, however, would not include time-sensitive and high-value intelligence which is needed for precision strikes on movable Russian targets.
Many users on X, formerly Twitter, have cited the decision to stop sharing intelligence with Ukraine as the reason behind Russia’s March 5 strike.
User OSINTtechnical, who often posts about the Russia-Ukraine war, posted before the attack that the intelligence-sharing decision would have significant ramifications. “Immediate impacts from the total US shutdown of intelligence sharing to Ukraine will be wide-ranging, but Russian air strikes targeting civilian infrastructure will likely become more effective. Comes at a time when the US has cut Ukraine off from air defense supplies,” they wrote.
What People Are Saying
Denis Kazansky, a Ukrainian journalist, wrote on X: “Trump paused intelligence sharing with Ukraine to stop retaliatory strikes against Russia. But Russia has not stopped striking Ukraine and now continues to kill Ukrainians who cannot defend themselves. Today Russian army just attacked a hotel in city of Krivyi Rig. There are dead and wounded. Does it look like Putin wants peace?”
Svitlana Morenets, a Ukrainian journalist based in the U.K., wrote on X: “Trump wanted to ‘stop the killings’ so badly that he cut aid to Ukraine and halted intelligence sharing, preventing air defences from receiving real-time information for long-range strikes. Now, even more Ukrainian civilians will die. Kryvyi Rih right now.”
Brian Krassenstein, a political commentator, wrote on X: “BREAKING: Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly launched a ballistic missile strike on a hotel filled with innocent civilians in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. This devastating attack comes just hours after Trump halted the sharing of intelligence with Ukraine—intel that may have directly impacted their defensive operations. Putin appears to have exploited this gap, using it as an opportunity to strike, and now innocent lives have been lost as a result. Trump is helping Putin kill innocent people. STOP THIS INSANITY!”
Ask Perplexity, an AI answer engine, responded to Krassenstein’s post on X: “Based on the available information, it’s not accurate to directly blame Donald Trump for this specific incident. The missile strike on Kryvyi Rih appears to have occurred, but the connection to Trump’s actions is speculative.
“While the Trump administration has paused intelligence sharing with Ukraine, this decision was made very recently and its impact on this particular event is unclear. It’s important to note that Russia has been conducting missile strikes throughout the conflict, and attributing any single attack to a change in U.S. policy would be an oversimplification of a complex situation.”
What Happens Next
France’s Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu said that Paris has “intelligence resources that we use to help the Ukrainians.” This could help fill the gap of U.S. intelligence.