US Reportedly Lifts Restrictions on Intel Sharing With Ukraine Amid Action in East, South

WASHINGTON, (Sputnik) - The United States lifted restrictions on intelligence sharing with Ukraine amid increased military action in the country’s southern and eastern areas, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the matter.

US intelligence chief Avril Haines informed Congress of the lifted restrictions earlier this month following a classified letter from congressman Mike Turner to the Biden administration urging the action, the report said.

The increased intelligence sharing is intended to aid Ukraine in its attempts to retake territory in the southern and eastern portions of the country, towards which Russian military officials said their ongoing special operation will be focused, according to the report.

Russian President Vladimir Putin cited protection from the actions of the Ukrainian government in the Donbas region as one of the reasons for the special military operation. Over one million refugees from Ukraine and the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics have crossed into Russia since the beginning of the conflict, an emergency services official said.

The expanded intelligence cooperation between the US and Ukraine comes alongside the allocation of billions of dollars in military equipment, humanitarian assistance and direct economic aid from Washington to Kiev. However, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said the conflict is not a proxy war between the US and Russia.