Exclusive-US threatens to cut intel, weapons to press Ukraine into peace deal, sources say

By Tom Balmforth

KYIV (Reuters) -The United States has threatened to cut intelligence sharing and weapons supplies for Ukraine to press it into agreeing to the framework of a U.S.-brokered peace deal, two people familiar with the matter said.

The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Kyiv was under greater pressure from Washington than during any previous peace discussions, and that the U.S. wanted Ukraine to sign a framework of the deal by next Thursday.

"They want to stop the war and want Ukraine to pay the price," one of the sources said.

Washington has presented Ukraine with a 28-point plan, which endorses some of Russia's principal demands in the war, including that Kyiv cede additional territory, curb the size of its military and be barred from joining NATO.

A delegation of senior U.S. military officials met with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv on Thursday to discuss a path to peace.

The U.S. ambassador in Ukraine and the army public affairs chief travelling with the delegation described the meeting as a success and said Washington sought an "aggressive timeline" for the signature of a document between the U.S. and Ukraine.

(Reporting by Tom Balmforth, writing by Max Hunder, editing by Philippa Fletcher and Peter Graff)