Politico: U.S. Intelligence Helped Ukraine Turn The Tide Of The War

• 6.08.2026, 7:51

Cooperation in the area of data exchange has returned to its previous levels.

Relations between the U.S. and Ukraine in the area of intelligence sharing have returned to their previous high level, according to long-time observers of Ukraine—a long-awaited boost during a critical window of opportunity for Ukraine’s military efforts.

Senator Mark Warner, a senior member of the Intelligence Committee and a long-time advocate for expanding U.S. aid to Ukraine, stated Politico that he sees evidence of an improved intelligence-sharing agreement—and believes this has helped Kyiv gain the upper hand in the four-year war unleashed by Moscow.

“I don’t want to get into specifics, but it has improved,” he emphasized, adding that Ukraine’s use of long-range drones and missiles has allowed it to strike deep into Russian territory and strengthen its positions.

In recent months, Kyiv has launched more aggressive strikes across Russia, allowing it to recapture territory and stabilize the front line. This has given the country more leverage as Ukraine seeks to turn its battlefield victories into pressure on Russia to bring it to the negotiating table.

Ukraine’s stronger position is also emerging as U.S.-mediated negotiations for a peace agreement with Moscow have reached an impasse, according to media reports. The negotiating team of U.S. President Donald Trump, which includes Steve Whitcoff and Jared Kushner, has been preoccupied with the war with Iran, pushing Ukraine lower on the list of priorities.

But during this time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has apparently risen in the eyes of the American leader as Kyiv has made progress in its standoff with Russia.

Ukraine’s strikes on Russian territory are the deciding factor

In early July (a barrage of Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure https://charter97.org/ru/news/2026/8/6/693762/) forced Moscow—one of the world’s largest fuel exporters—to suspend diesel exports. The increased frequency of such targeted attacks has put the Kremlin in a more difficult position, creating what Kyiv claims is a window of opportunity for Ukraine to use its current advantage to end the war.

Republican Senators John Cornyn, another member of the Intelligence Committee, and Roger Wicker, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, agreed that intelligence sharing between the U.S. and Ukraine has intensified at a strategically critical moment, reporters note.

“It certainly looks that way,” Cornyn noted. “Everyone loves a winner, and it seems Ukraine has turned the tide.” Senator Tim Kane, a Democratic member of the Armed Services Committee, told the media that he, too, had seen signs of more active cooperation between Ukraine and the U.S. “I was in Ukraine in April 2025 and was there again in July 2026. And I notice more confidence in our interactions,” Kane emphasized.

U.S. cooperation has played a key role in Ukraine’s favorable turn of events, emphasized George Barros, director of innovation and open-source intelligence at the hawkish Institute for the Study of War. Trump, reportedly approved the sharing of intelligence for Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure last year, which played a crucial role in creating the “right incentive structure” to push Moscow to the negotiating table, Barros noted.

These strikes, he said, were “multiplied in effect” and became significantly more effective when supplemented with intelligence from the Americans—part of “a broader, more cohesive strategy on how to actually impose real costs.”

And U.S. early-warning systems, Barros added, had been alerting Ukrainians to impending Russian missile attacks from the very first days of the war.

“The President wants this war to be resolved so that the senseless killings will stop,” the White House spokesperson said. “The President and his team remain committed to continuing to play a constructive role in ending the war between Russia and Ukraine, and he remains optimistic that we will ultimately achieve a peace agreement.”

The U.S. Could Also Benefit

Washington could also benefit from intelligence provided by Kyiv, said John Herbst, who served as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine from 2003 to 2006 and still maintains contacts with Ukrainian officials. “There is no doubt about the following: Ukraine has outstanding intelligence on Russia,” he noted.

It is reported that Zelenskyy sought to put this intelligence to use. While Washington was embroiled in a five-month war against Iran, the Ukrainian president preceded his July visit to the Oval Office by stating that Kyiv planned to provide Trump with evidence that Russia was aiding Tehran.

“When you talk to Ukrainian intelligence officers, you hear confident assessments of what is happening in Moscow—and not just in the Kremlin,” – emphasized Stephen Sestanovich, a senior fellow for Russian and Eurasian studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. – “Assessments of this kind justify a truly joint and mutual agreement on information sharing.”