US intelligence helps Ukraine target Russian energy infrastructure, FT reports
(Reuters) – The United States has been helping Ukraine launch long-range attacks on Russian energy facilities for months to weaken the economy and force President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
U.S. intelligence helped Kiev hit key Russian energy assets, including oil refineries far beyond the front lines, the newspaper said, citing unnamed Ukrainian and U.S. officials familiar with the campaign.
The White House, the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters. There has been no comment yet from the Russian foreign ministry.
Moscow said this month that Washington and the NATO alliance were regularly providing intelligence to Kiev in the war Putin launched in February 2022.
“The provision and use of the entire infrastructure of NATO and the United States to collect and transfer intelligence to the Ukrainians is obvious,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
The FT said US intelligence helped Kiev shape route planning, altitude, timing and mission decisions, allowing Ukraine’s long-range, one-way attack drones to evade Russian air defences.
The United States was closely involved in all stages of planning, it said, citing three people familiar with the operation. A US official was quoted as saying that Ukraine selected targets for long-range strikes and then Washington provided intelligence on the weak points of these facilities.
Earlier this month, two US officials told Reuters that Washington would provide Ukraine with intelligence on long-range energy infrastructure targets in Russia as Washington considered whether Kiev would send missiles that could be used in such attacks.
US officials said the US has asked its NATO allies to provide similar support.
Zelenskiy said on Saturday that he discussed Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy system in a “positive and productive” meeting with US President Donald Trump.
“We discussed opportunities to strengthen our air defense and concrete agreements that we are working on to ensure this. There are good options and solid ideas on how to really strengthen us,” Zelenskiy shared on X.
(Reporting by Yazhini MV in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by William Mallard)
