Trump envoy says US intelligence aid for Ukraine was never fully cut

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US never fully cut intelligence assistance for Ukraine, and continued to ensure it flowed for Kyiv's defensive purposes, President Donald Trump's special envoy said Monday ahead of critical bilateral negotiations.

"We never shut off intelligence for anything defensive that the Ukrainians need. So that's never been shut off," Steve Witkoff said during an interview with Fox News just minutes before he was slated to depart for Saudi Arabia to participate in the latest round of negotiations with Ukraine.

Asked if it is possible that an agreement could be inked with Kyiv during this week's talks, Witkoff struck an upbeat note, saying, "I would certainly hope so."

"I am really hopeful. All the signs are very, very positive from Zelenskyy, from his next in command, Yermak, from the Europeans," he said referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his second-in-command, Andrii Yermak. "I think that we're going over there with an expectation that we're going to make substantial progress. And so I'm certainly hopeful for that."

He further voiced hope that a critical minerals deal will be struck with Ukraine, saying security protocols for Ukraine and territorial issues need to be ironed out, "but these are not complicated things."

"They just need to be put on the table, and everybody needs to be transparent about what their expectations are. Then we can begin to have a discussion around how we compromise," he added.

Witkoff will be joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.

The US and Russia met last month in the Kingdom to discuss normalizing bilateral relations and ending the ongoing war in Ukraine.

This week's meeting comes after Washington halted military funding and some intelligence sharing with Ukraine last week following a heated Oval Office exchange between Zelenskyy and Trump that saw the Ukrainian leader depart the White House early, leaving the minerals deal unsigned.

As the US pulled back from supporting Ukraine, various European leaders have stepped up to stress their steadfast support for Kyiv in the form of military aid and other initiatives.​​​​​​​