RT.com
08 Mar 2025, 22:10 GMT+10
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has suspended the service at President Donald Trump's behest
The US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has stopped providing Ukraine with satellite imagery paid for by Washington, several media outlets have reported, citing a statement by the agency. The decision was made in line with President Donald Trump's "directive on support to Ukraine," it said.
The move follows Washington's recent freeze on further weapons deliveries and intelligence sharing with Kiev, which, in turn, came on the heels of last Friday's altercation between Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance at the White House. The US head of state accused Zelensky of ingratitude and "gambling with World War III" by refusing to seek peace with Russia.
On Friday, the Washington Post, ABC News, and several other media outlets reported, citing a statement from the agency itself, that the NGA had "temporarily suspended [Ukraine's] access" to commercial satellite imagery purchased by the US government. The NGA is a unit within the Department of Defense.
The same day, Maxar, a leading US provider of commercial satellite imagery, issued a statement, confirming that the "U.S. government has temporarily suspended Ukrainian accounts" in the Global Enhanced GEOINT Delivery program.
According to the Washington Post, the Ukrainian military, artillery and drone units in particular, had heavily relied on the NGA service. The media outlet quoted several Ukrainian service members as saying that the "suspension was immediately felt" by Kiev's forces.
The publication noted, however, that Kiev could still access this kind of satellite imagery via its own accounts.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Oliver Carroll, a staff writer for The Economist, claimed that the US had ceased providing Ukraine with the data needed to conduct long-range strikes on Russian targets with the help of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).
Also on Wednesday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Fox Business that Trump had "asked for a pause" in intelligence sharing with Ukraine to determine whether Kiev was ready to negotiate peace with Moscow.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Washington's decision to halt intelligence sharing with Kiev proved that without the West's direct involvement "Ukraine would not be able to... launch long-range missiles at our territory."
Commenting on Tuesday on the halt of US intelligence sharing with Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed cautious optimism, noting that if the US were to suspend supplies altogether, it would "probably be the best contribution to the cause of peace."
Get a daily dose of Russia Herald news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Russia Herald.
More InformationNEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks surged on Monday following news that the Trump administration had agreed to a 90-day reduction of...
SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - Stocks in Asia and the pacific have closed significantly higher following ceasefires in India-Pakistan hostilities,...
TOKYO, Japan: Toyota Motor Corp is bracing for a 21 percent decline in full-year profit, as the impact of President Donald Trump's...
HELSINKI, Finland: In response to rising geopolitical risks, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Estonia are preparing to roll out...
CHICAGO, Illinois: All U.S. airlines are feeling the impact of falling travel demand caused by President Trump's trade war. But low-cost...
SANTIAGO, Chile: Amazon Web Services (AWS) will invest US$4 billion to establish its first data centers in Chile, aiming to tap into...
DUBLIN, Ireland - Investigators are continuing to probe the circumstances that led to the death of a Garda officer on Sunday. Another...
Pope Leo XIV's father, Louis Marius Prevost, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Prevost Snr. was born on July 28, 1920,...
On a typical day, Mai Rupa travels through his native Shan State, in eastern Myanmar, documenting the impact of war. A video journalist...
AMMAN, Jordan - A United Nations investigative committee has accused Israel of inflicting unimaginable suffering on Palestinians under...
LIMA, Peru: Two British women, Miriam Payne (25) and Jess Rowe (28) have restarted their bold journey to row 8,000 miles non-stop across...
(Athens, May 8, 2025) - Greece faces a media freedom crisis as a result of actions and failures by the Greek government, threatening...