US defence officials have prevented Ukraine from using American-supplied long-range missiles to hit targets inside Russia since late spring, as part of a Trump administration effort to push Vladimir Putin towards peace talks, according to a report.
The Wall Street Journal said the Pentagon had imposed restrictions on the use of Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMs), which have a range of nearly 190 miles (305km). Two US officials told the paper that Ukrainian requests to use the weapons had been denied under a “review mechanism” devised by Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s undersecretary for policy.
The system requires case-by-case approval for long-range strikes using American-made missiles or European systems that rely on American intelligence and components. Britain’s Storm Shadow cruise missile also falls under the process, because it depends on American targeting data, according to American and British officials cited in the report.
Approval over the Atacms rests with defence secretary Pete Hegseth. Ukraine was granted authority to strike inside Russia with the missile system last November, after North Korean troops entered the conflict, but that permission has since been curtailed.
Donald Trump has repeatedly voiced opposition to allowing Kyiv to hit targets deep inside Russia. Before taking office in January, he told Time magazine that permitting such strikes had been a mistake.
“I disagree very vehemently with sending missiles hundreds of miles into Russia. Why are we doing that? We’re just escalating this war and making it worse. That should not have been allowed to be done,” he said.
It remains unclear whether the Pentagon’s restrictions amount to a formal shift in policy, but they come amid tighter control of weapons supplies to Ukraine as American stockpiles dwindle.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that Trump “has been very clear that the war in Ukraine needs to end. There has been no change in military posture in Russia-Ukraine at this time.”
The president’s stance has not always been consistent. Last week, while urging talks between Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he argued that Ukraine could not hope to defeat Russia without taking the fight across the border.
“It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invader’s country,” Trump wrote on Thursday. “It’s like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defence, but is not allowed to play offence. There is no chance of winning.”
In a further development, Washington has approved the sale of 3,350 Extended Range Attack Munition (Erams) air-launched missiles, which can reach 280 miles (400km), though only on the condition that European nations cover the cost.
