MOSCOW (Reuters) -The Kremlin said on Thursday that the United States and the NATO alliance were already supplying intelligence to Ukraine on a regular basis, in response to reports that Washington would provide intelligence on Russian energy targets to Kyiv.
The Wall Street Journal and Reuters reported that the U.S. would provide Ukraine with intelligence on long-range energy infrastructure targets inside Russia as it also weighs whether to send missiles to Kyiv that could be used in such strikes.
“The United States of America transmits intelligence to Ukraine on a regular basis online,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“The supply and use of the entire infrastructure of NATO and the United States to collect and transfer intelligence to Ukrainians is obvious.”
REPORTS COME AMID US FRUSTRATION WITH PUTIN OVER WAR
Washington has long been sharing intelligence with Kyiv but has not openly declared its participation in striking Russian energy installations before and the U.S. has been wary of becoming directly involved in attacks on Russia.
The White House did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the reports, which come amid a hardening of U.S. President Donald Trump’s rhetoric toward Russia less than two months after he hosted Russian leader Vladimir Putin at a summit in Alaska.
Trump has expressed deep frustration with Putin’s refusal to agree a ceasefire in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russian forces continue to advance in eastern Ukraine, while some European leaders have complained of regular incursions by Russian drones into their airspace. Moscow denies intentionally violating NATO airspace.
Ukraine has repeatedly struck Russian refineries over the past two months, disrupting processing and prompting a sharp increase in crude exports from Russia, which is already the world’s second-largest oil exporter.
The Wall Street Journal said the reported U.S. move on intelligence sharing would make it easier for Ukraine to hit infrastructure such as refineries, pipelines and power plants with the aim of depriving the Kremlin of revenue and oil.
The U.S. is also currently weighing a Ukrainian request for Tomahawk cruise missiles, which have a range of 2,500 km (1,550 miles) – easily enough to hit Moscow and most of European Russia if fired from Ukraine.
After Ukraine fired U.S. ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles into Russia last year, Putin ordered a hypersonic missile be fired at Ukraine.
At the time he said Russia reserves the right to strike at military installations in countries that let Ukraine use their missiles to hit Russia. He also said Moscow could deploy its own missiles within striking distance of Western states if Russia is hit.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Gleb Stolyarov; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Gareth Jones)
