US intel chief blocks sharing of Russia-Ukraine peace talks with allies

CBS News has reported that amid ongoing Russia-Ukraine talks, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has ordered US intelligence not to share details of the negotiations with allied partners.

The memo, dated July 20 and signed by Gabbard, instructed agencies to withhold such information from the Five Eyes alliance — a post-World War II intelligence network comprising the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand — according to multiple US intelligence officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Officials said the directive classified all analysis and intelligence relating to the peace talks as "NOFORN," or no foreign dissemination, meaning it could not be shared with foreign governments or nationals. Only publicly released information could be distributed, and internal material was restricted to the agencies that produced it.

The memo does not appear to limit the sharing of diplomatic information gathered outside the intelligence community or military operational data unrelated to the talks, such as the intelligence provided to the Ukrainian military to support defensive operations.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence referred questions to the White House, which declined to comment.

"In general, the value of the Fives Eyes intelligence partnership is that when we are making and they are making policy decisions, we can both augment each other's intelligence and therefore know more about the plans, intentions, and capabilities of our adversaries," said Steven Cash, a former intelligence officer at the CIA and Department of Homeland Security.

"Among the reasons for that sort of default is the expectation that we and the other four are all sitting on the same side of the table with some other adversary on the other side," Cash added.

He emphasised that allies benefit from having "a common intelligence picture" so that policymakers and negotiators "can coordinate our positions and get the best deal we can, or fight the best war we can."

The Five Eyes alliance traces its origins to March 1946, when Winston Churchill highlighted the "special relationship" between the US and the UK amid the threat of an "Iron Curtain" descending across Europe. Initially a secret bilateral intelligence agreement, it expanded to include Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, forming the five-nation network that persists today.

Some former US officials warn that the scope of Gabbard’s order could weaken the intelligence alliance, discouraging analysts from sharing insights and undermining trust among partners who rely on open exchanges to create a comprehensive understanding of global threats and negotiation strategies.

Cash and CBS News national security contributor Sam Vinograd, a former homeland security official, noted that the Five Eyes network often provides intelligence critical to US assessments, particularly on Russia, given partners’ access to unique sources.

"Shutting our most trusted partners off from intelligence assessments could have a chilling effect on critical intelligence sharing if our partners believe they're being shut out of key access — including on key matters in their region. They could decide to take similar steps toward the U.S.," Vinograd said.

She added, "Policy-wise, if our Five Eyes partners think they are being shut off from key information. They could choose to create new structures and channels without us. A lack of full collaboration with our closest partners could lead them to discuss matters impacting our national security without our input and perspective."

However, other former intelligence officials argued that Gabbard’s directive is standard practice within the US intelligence community and that criticism is overblown. They note that both the US and other Five Eyes members frequently withhold information where national interests diverge.

"There is a lot of information we do not share even with our Five Eyes partners, and it works in the reverse. There's a lot of U.K. eyes-only material. There's a lot of Australian eyes-only material," said Ezra Cohen, a Hudson Institute fellow who served as acting Undersecretary of Defence for Intelligence at the Pentagon.

"Our interests are not always aligned with our Five Eyes partners," Cohen said. "And where we have diverging interests, and it's not just Ukraine, we absolutely mark things NOFORN."

While he acknowledged the directive could limit US access to some information, Cohen described claims that it threatens the Five Eyes relationship as "a little bit like faux outrage."

Meanwhile, the conflict in Ukraine continues to inflict heavy casualties. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned Moscow on August 22 for launching hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight, "as if nothing had changed at all. As if there were no efforts by the world to stop this war."

By Aghakazim Guliyev