President Joe Biden spoke with top US intelligence and defense officials on Friday to emphasize the importance of their work but also said that recent news reports about US intelligence sharing with Ukraine had been counterproductive, according to two administration officials.
On the phone with CIA Director William Burns, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Biden’s message was that such disclosures “shift our goals,” one official said. Another official said Biden said the leaks had to stop.
The CIA and the DNI Office declined to comment. The Pentagon and the National Security Council did not respond to requests for comment.
Biden spoke to officials amid concerns within his administration about news reports, including by NBC News, about US intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
NBC News reported on Thursday that US intelligence helped Ukraine sink the Russian aircraft carrier Moskva last month. The story follows one in the New York Times on Wednesday about the US providing Ukraine with intelligence that helped the Ukrainian military kill Russian generals.
NBC News also reported last week how US intelligence helped Ukraine protect its air defense systems and shot down a Russian plane.
The Biden administration has denied providing any targeting information for Ukraine to use to sink the Russian ship, and officials say the US had no prior knowledge of the attack and was not involved in it. Officials also said the US had not provided Ukraine with intelligence intended to be used to kill the Russian generals.
Several government officials have expressed concern that public disclosure could escalate the conflict by provoking Russian President Vladimir Putin and possibly hindering the effectiveness of the US sharing intelligence with Ukraine.