Ukrainian politician Maj Volodymyr Omelyan has warned that President Donald Trump‘s latest comments have “inspired” Russia and left Ukraine soldiers “fighting blind”.
“Russians are extremely inspired by recent statements of Trump that he’s leaving Europe, he’s going to remove sanctions against Russia, cutting Ukrainian intelligence and also supplies,” Omelyan told BBC 5 Live Breakfast.
Asked about the US’s withdrawal of satellite imagery services to Ukraine, he added: “We don’t see what Russia is preparing to do with its territory anymore … You hear the noise and feel the enemy, but you cannot see it.”
The US Government confirmed on Friday that it had stopped Ukrainian access to a programme sharing unclassified satellite images that had been used to help it fight back against Russia.
The US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency told The Associated Press that the decision had been taken because of “the administration’s directive on support to Ukraine“.