French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Thursday that France was continuing to provide military intelligence to Ukraine after Washington announced a temporary suspension of information exchange with Kiev.
The decision followed the rejection of a peace proposal put forward by France and Britain by the Russian Foreign Ministry, which said it merely gave Ukraine an opportunity to improve its military.
The United States said Wednesday it was suspending intelligence sharing with Ukraine, cutting off the flow of critical information that has helped the country deal with Russian aggressors. But Trump administration officials have indicated that positive talks between Washington and Kiev could mean the suspension will be temporary.
Intelligence from the United States is vital to Ukraine because it helps track Russian troop movements and identify targets.
Mr Lecornu told France Inter radio on Thursday that France was continuing to share intelligence.
“Our intelligence is sovereign,” Mr. Lecornu stressed. “We have data that we are allowing Ukraine to use.”
He also added that following the US decision to suspend all military aid to Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron instructed him to “accelerate the various French aid packages” to compensate for the lack of American support.
Mr Lecornu said that following the US decision, humanitarian supplies to Ukraine from Poland had been suspended, adding that “the Ukrainians, unfortunately, have been learning to wage this war for three years now and know how to stockpile supplies.”
A Russian ballistic missile struck Ukraine overnight, killing four people staying at a hotel in President Volodymyr Zelensky's hometown.
Mr Zelensky, who is attending an emergency EU defence summit in Brussels, said aid workers had moved into a hotel in Kryvyi Rih, central Ukraine, just before the strike, including Ukrainian, US and British citizens. He did not say whether they were among the 31 wounded.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched 112 Shahid drones and decoy drones, as well as two Iskander ballistic missiles, at Ukraine overnight.
Later on Thursday, Russia's Foreign Ministry rejected a peace proposal from France and Britain, calling it an attempt by Kyiv's European allies to give Ukraine's embattled army a break.
Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova noted that the proposed cessation of air and sea attacks is an attempt to “create a pause for the suffering Kyiv regime, the Ukrainian armed forces and to prevent
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
