US threatened to cut intelligence sharing over strikes on Russian refineries, Zelenskyy confirms
The Trump administration threatened to suspend intelligence sharing with Ukraine unless Kyiv stopped its long-range strikes on Russian oil refineries, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed in an interview with NPR published on October 13.
"They told my generals, not me," Zelenskyy said, explaining that Ukrainian military commanders had informed him of the warning.
The Ukrainian president did not say that intelligence sharing had actually been suspended.
US President Donald Trump said on October 13 that Washington continued providing Ukraine with intelligence.
"We are helping them and we are sharing intel, we want the war to end," Trump told reporters.
The Financial Times had previously reported, citing European officials familiar with the matter, that Washington was pressuring Kyiv to halt attacks on Russian refineries, threatening to restrict intelligence sharing and weapons purchases.
The issue has come under renewed scrutiny after Russian ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv on October 12 and 13, when Ukrainian authorities reported receiving no advance warning from Western partners.
In both cases, missiles were detected only as they approached the capital, leaving insufficient time to issue air raid alerts before explosions occurred.
Politico reported, citing an official familiar with the matter, that US officials attributed the absence of advance warning to adverse weather conditions.
The incidents have raised concerns in Kyiv, although there is no confirmed evidence that the missing warnings were connected to the reported US threat to suspend intelligence sharing.
The Trump administration temporarily halted intelligence sharing with Ukraine in March 2025 before resuming it later that month.