The Department of Defense has been blocking Ukraine from using long-range missiles to strike deep into Russian territory, according to a new report.
Why It Matters
Ukrainian use of long-range missiles has long been a thorny issue for the U.S., although the Joe Biden administration finally greenlit Kyiv’s use of American Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles as it left office last year. ATACMS have a range of roughly 190 miles.
Kyiv had long clamored for permission to use long-range Western weaponry far across the border. Ukraine instead turned to its homegrown drones to strike hundreds of miles into Russian territory.
What To Know
Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon‘s policy chief, developed a review process to decide whether Kyiv would be able to fire long-range Western weapons into Russia, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing anonymous U.S. officials.
The review, which came into effect in the “late spring,” covers both U.S.-made kit like ATACMS and weapons donated by Kyiv’s European backers that hinge on U.S. support to be used effectively, according to the report.
Ukraine previously said the restrictions on long-range strikes constrained its ability to fight Russia and to defend itself. Two officials told the outlet that Kyiv had attempted to use ATACMS against Russia, but was rebuffed on at least one occasion.
The decision on whether Ukraine could use these missiles ultimately falls to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Journal reported.
“Secretary Hegseth is working in lockstep with President Trump,” Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said in a statement.
“President 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.”
Newsweek could not independently verify the report, and the Pentagon declined to comment. Newsweek has reached out to the White House and the Ukrainian military for comment.
Trump has flip-flopped in his feelings on Ukraine, the administration swinging from authorizing a pause in intelligence flow to Kyiv earlier this year to approving more weapons for the country via other NATO members.
Trump said earlier this week it is “very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invader’s country.” Before taking office, he said in December he disagreed “very vehemently with sending missiles hundreds of miles into Russia.”
The administration has been reluctant to strong-arm the Kremlin in peace negotiations, although Trump on Friday suggested he could resort to “massive sanctions or massive tariffs” on Russia if progress toward an agreement isn’t quickly reached.
Ukraine signed up to a U.S. ceasefire proposal back in March. Russia refused to consent, and has since offered little indication it will move on its demands while resisting confirmation of a direct meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelensky.
The operators of a Russian nuclear power plant in the country’s western Kursk region and the region’s governor said in posts to messaging app Telegram early on Sunday that Russian air defenses had intercepted a Ukrainian drone close to the site shortly after midnight local time. Kursk borders northeastern Ukraine.
The Ukrainian drone detonated as it fell, damaging an auxiliary transformer and sparking a fire, the station in Kursk said. There were no casualties, but one of the reactors was working at 50 percent capacity, the nuclear plant said, adding radiation levels hadn’t changed.
Alexander Khinshtein, the acting governor of the Kursk region, shared a similar statement. The United Nations‘ nuclear watchdog said it was aware of reports that a transformer at the Kursk site had caught fire “due to military activity,” but said it could not independently verify the information. In a later update, the IAEA said it confirmed that radiation was normal around the site.
Ukraine’s military said early on Sunday had attacked the Ust-Lega sea terminal in Russia’s western Leningrad region, which it described as “one of the key logistics hubs” for the Kremlin’s operations in the Baltic Sea and tied to Moscow’s profits from energy exports.
Kyiv said it had also targeted “a number of logistics facilities” in Russia’s Belgorod and Voronezh regions, which border Ukraine, as well as an oil refinery in the country’s Samara region.
Ukraine has consistently targeted sites linked to Russian oil and gas, saying it hopes to cut off Moscow’s access to resources that prop up its war effort.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump said on Thursday, referring to fighting a war without being able to strike the enemy’s own soil: “It’s like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defense, but is not allowed to play offense.”
What Happens Next
It’s not clear how quickly U.S.-brokered efforts to reach a peace deal will move, with months of slow progress frustrating the White House.
The post Pentagon Blocking Ukraine Long-Range Missile Strikes on Russia: Report appeared first on Newsweek.
