A Reuters investigation reveals that multiple U.S. national security agencies have paused a coordinated campaign to counter Russian sabotage, disinformation, and cyberattacks, a shift that coincides with Ukraine’s battlefield setbacks since early 2025. The halt, occurring after President Donald Trump’s January 20 inauguration, has softened pressure on Moscow as the administration pushes Russia to end its war in Ukraine—a conflict where Kyiv has lost significant ground in recent months.

Under former President Joe Biden, the effort began in 2024 amid intelligence warnings of Russia’s escalating hybrid warfare against Western nations. Led by the National Security Council (NSC), it united at least seven agencies—including the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and State Department—with European allies to disrupt Russian plots targeting Europe and the U.S. Biden officials briefed Trump’s team on the initiative, urging its continuation, Reuters reported, citing seven former participants.

Yet, since Trump took office, the program has faltered, per eleven current and former officials who spoke anonymously to Reuters about classified matters. NSC meetings with European partners have lapsed, and interagency coordination has stopped, though it’s unclear if this reflects a White House order or agency-level decisions. The timing is striking: as U.S. efforts waned, Ukraine has lost key territories to Russian advances, weakened by disinformation and cyberattacks that this program aimed to counter.

This rollback follows the dissolution of other Biden-era Russia-focused efforts, like the FBI’s election interference task force and a Justice Department team seizing oligarch assets. Some officials worry that de-prioritizing these defenses emboldens Moscow at a pivotal moment. With Trump favoring diplomacy over confrontation, the pause could signal a broader strategic shift—yet, as Ukraine’s front lines crumble, Reuters’ findings underscore the risks of scaling back vigilance against Russia’s hybrid tactics.