Amid negotiations between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine, a new report has surfaced indicating that the U.S. has been preventing the Ukrainian Armed Forces from using ATACMS ballistic missiles against targets inside Russian territory, limiting Kyiv’s ability to counter Moscow’s invasion for several months. The decision, which was not officially announced, was reportedly made through a high-level procedure within the Pentagon, blocking Ukraine’s attack plans on at least one occasion.
The news was presented by the U.S. publication The Wall Street Journal, which claims to have consulted two defense officials who, under condition of anonymity, confirmed the matter. According to their explanation, the White House sought to signal goodwill to its Russian counterpart through this decision in order to facilitate negotiations, while also putting Kyiv in an uncomfortable position where it cannot act on its own without the Pentagon’s explicit authorization—adding greater pressure to accept potential terms of an agreement.
Expanding further, the report states that it was the Pentagon’s Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Elbridge Colby, who established the review mechanism requiring Kyiv to obtain Washington’s approval before employing U.S. weaponry in offensive missions. This even extends to weapons supplied by Ukraine’s European allies but reliant on U.S. intelligence data to be employed. In short, this effectively means that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth holds the key to whether Ukraine can strike Russian territory.
It is noteworthy that President Trump himself recently posted a troubling message on social media for Kyiv’s hopes of sustaining the conflict, stating that it would be practically impossible for Ukraine to win the war without the ability to go on the offensive inside Russian territory. This aligns with his earlier statements during the campaign that brought him to the U.S. presidency, when he opposed then-President Joe Biden’s decision to allow the European country to be supplied with long-range weaponry for offensive missions, fearing such a move could further escalate the conflict.
However, somewhat surprisingly considering the above, the U.S. government has also recently approved the delivery of up to 3,350 new low-cost ERAM missiles to equip Ukraine’s Air Force F-16s. As required in the request prepared by the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC), these missiles must have a range of at least 463 kilometers. The operation is expected to cost around $850 million, with a large portion of the funding to be provided by European countries, and deliveries anticipated within approximately six weeks.
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