US halts commercial satellite imagery access for Ukraine

WASHINGTON (AFP): Washington has “temporarily suspended” Ukraine’s access to US government-purchased commercial satellite imagery, a National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency spokesperson said on Friday.

Maxar, one of the companies contracted by the US program that provided the imagery to Kyiv, confirmed the suspension, while saying there is “no change to the way we support our other customers nor their programs or contracts.”

The suspension of Ukraine’s access to the satellite imagery — which its forces have used for tracking the movement of Russian troops and assessing damage after strikes — comes after Washington halted other key assistance for Kyiv.

President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky had a public falling-out in the Oval Office last week, followed by Washington suspending crucial US military aid.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe then confirmed Wednesday that intelligence sharing had also been frozen as Ukraine seeks to beat back the Russian invasion, which Moscow’s forces launched in February 2022.

For Ukraine’s armed forces, US intelligence is as important as military supplies in bloody fighting against Russian troops, and many ordinary Ukrainians have been shocked by Trump cutting off assistance.

Washington was once a key backer of Ukraine in its battle against Russia’s invasion, but the close partnership between the two countries has quickly unraveled since Trump took office in January.