The U.S. Senate formally confirmed John Ratcliffe as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on Jan. 23.
Ratcliffe, who served as President Donald Trump's director of national intelligence during part of Trump's first term in office, was confirmed with 74 senators voting in favor and 24 voting against the appointment.
Ratcliffe becomes the second Trump nominee to secure an appointment from the Senate, days after State Secretary Marco Rubio was sworn into his new post.
Ratcliffe replaces Bill Burns as the head of the spy agency.
During his term as the head of the CIA, Burns reportedly regularly communicated with Ukrainian officials for purposes of intelligence sharing. Burns made his final visit to Kyiv on Dec. 21 to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky, marking a rare public acknowledgment of their discussions during Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Zelensky noted that he and Burns had met multiple times throughout the war, but such encounters were typically kept confidential
The United States under former President Joe Biden had been Ukraine's key ally, providing substantial financial and military aid since the all-out war began nearly three years ago. Washington is also reported to have consistently shared military intelligence to bolster Ukraine's defense.
In his Senate hearing last week, Ratcliffe alluded to foreign adversaries Russia and China, referring the need for the U.S. to improve the use of artificial intelligence. Ratcliffe, a staunch supporter of Trump, also echoed comments from the president that the Russia-Ukraine war threatens to draw the U.S. into a conflict with a "nuclear country."
It is unclear if the Trump administration will continue to provide the same level of intelligence sharing with Ukraine as it received during the Biden administration.
Boldizsar Gyori
