US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has ordered all information about the ongoing Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations to be withheld from US intelligence partners, including the Five Eyes alliance. The memo, dated July 20, classifies all relevant data as NOFORN, meaning it cannot be shared with foreign partners. This move, according to unnamed sources, is intended to limit the distribution of such materials to the agency from which they originated. However, it does not prevent the sharing of diplomatic or military operational intelligence collected outside the US intelligence community, such as information shared with Ukrainian forces.
Critics argue that this directive could erode trust between Washington and its allies, which has historically relied on open intelligence sharing. Some officials, however, point out that withholding information in areas of diverging interests is not unprecedented among Five Eyes partners. Gabbard has previously criticized the West’s approach to the Ukraine conflict, suggesting that NATO’s refusal to acknowledge Russia’s ‘legitimate security concerns’ contributed to the crisis. The directive came ahead of talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump in Alaska, which concluded without a ceasefire agreement, though both leaders called the meeting constructive.
In the aftermath, Trump hosted Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and European leaders at the White House, focusing on finding a path to settle the conflict and provide security guarantees for Ukraine. Trump later told Zelensky that he had to ‘show flexibility’ and reiterated that Kiev would not join NATO. This directive highlights the complex geopolitical dynamics at play, as the United States grapples with balancing its alliances and its engagement with Russia amid the ongoing conflict.