France is providing Ukraine with military intelligence information after Washington announced a suspension of sharing such information with Kiev, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Thursday.
The United States said Wednesday it has suspended intelligence sharing with Ukraine, cutting off vital data that has helped it target the Russian invader. However, Trump administration officials have said positive talks between Washington and Kiev mean the suspension could be short-lived.
American intelligence information is vital to Ukraine in its efforts to track Russian troop movements and select targets.
Speaking to Inter radio on Thursday, Lecornu said France is continuing to share intelligence information with Ukraine.
"Our intelligence information is sovereign. Ukraine can benefit from our intelligence information," he added.
The US made the decision after a dramatic deterioration in relations between Kiev and Washington. US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky clashed in the Oval Office last week, and after that, the US announced it was suspending essential military aid to Ukraine.
The director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), John Ratcliffe, confirmed on Wednesday that the intelligence sharing has been frozen, as Ukraine continues to fight against the invasion that Russia launched in 2022.
"President Trump had a real question about whether President Zelensky was committed to the peace process," Ratcliffe told Fox News.
Ratcliffe said the suspension "on the military front and on the intelligence front" is temporary and the US will again work "side by side with Ukraine."
On Tuesday, Trump said Zelensky told him that Kiev was ready for talks with Moscow and to finalize a minerals deal with the US, as Ukraine attempts to overcome the standoff in the Oval Office.
Zelensky has attempted to improve his relationship with Trump, writing on social media that his clash with the American leader was "regrettable" and adding that he wants to improve the situation.
In his address to the US Congress on Tuesday, Trump read Zelensky's letter.
"The letter states 'Ukraine is willing to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. No one wants peace more than the Ukrainians,'" Trump told US lawmakers./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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