Intel-sharing pause hurts US leverage with Russia as Ukraine loses ground in Kursk operation

WASHINGTON — The US pause in military aid to Ukraine and sharing intelligence with the war-torn country has led Russian forces to step up missile strikes to an intensity rarely seen since the February 2022 invasion, hastening Kyiv’s retreat from Moscow’s Kursk region and damaging hope of leverage in potential cease-fire talks.

Moscow has launched more than 80 missiles at Ukraine since Wednesday’s intelligence-sharing pause — after relying almost solely on artillery and drone strikes for at least a week prior — and more than 1,550 attack drones since the aid pause on March 3.

During the same period, Ukraine’s forces have increasingly lost territory in Kursk, and a Ukrainian commander told The Post last week that Kyiv’s forces would be back in Ukrainian territory by March

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