Can Europeans step in? Intelligence blackout for Kiev - Trump even forbids allies from helping

The USA is no longer passing on intelligence information to Ukraine. The Europeans want to step in - but do they even have the means to do so? A stocktaking.

Donald Trump is getting serious: following the scandal with Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House on February 28, the US President has not only stopped providing arms aid to Ukraine, but is also no longer passing on intelligence information to Kiev.

It is clear that Ukraine will be missing promised weapons such as the Patriot air defense system, which is already in storage in Poland. But the lack of reconnaissance will also have an impact: Kiev not only has too few interceptor missiles for Russian cruise missiles, but also finds out too late when they are fired.

And Washington is consistent: even allies such as the UK are not allowed to pass on information to Ukraine that the USA has obtained. As the Daily Mail reports, the White House is insisting on the gag order, which also affects New Zealand, Australia and Canada, which cooperate with the USA on intelligence in the Five Eyes alliance.

London and Paris want to help, but can they?

France is the first to react to this move: "We have intelligence resources that we are making available to the Ukrainians," assures Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu. President Emmanuel Macron has also instructed him to "speed up the delivery of French aid packages to compensate for the lack of US aid".

And London is also following suit: According to the Guardian, the UK wants to continue to pass on to Kiev the information that has been obtained without US help. "They are not as far-reaching as the capabilities of the US, not on the same scale and not in a position to take their place," concedes an insider. But Ukraine would still benefit from this.

Lecornu knows that the situation is "more complicated" for the British. The French, on the other hand, have a "sovereign secret service". And the French are actually ranked fourth in the world for military satellites. That sounds good in theory, but in practice there is a world of difference.

Enormous backlog

The top places are occupied by the USA, China and Russia with 247, 157 and 110 military satellites respectively. France follows with 17. Italy has 10, Germany 8, the UK 6 and Spain 4 military satellites that could help the Ukrainian military. Together, the Europeans have a total of 45 satellites, which can hardly compete with the arsenal of the US armed forces.

When it comes to aerial reconnaissance, Europe largely uses American technology. The UK has Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint spy planes, Germany has the Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime reconnaissance aircraft and MQ-9 Reaper drones are used in France, the UK, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Poland.

Reconnaissance aircraft without US technology are rare on the old continent: only the Saab GlobalEye system from Sweden does without it. In this area, too, Europe needs to make significant gains before it can be independent. By then, however, it could be too late for Ukraine.