The Pentagon has blocked Ukraine from striking deep inside Russia with American-supplied missiles, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, citing US officials.
According to the paper, the Department of Defense has been preventing Kiev from firing long-range ATACMS missiles since late spring. On at least one occasion, Washington reportedly turned down a Ukrainian request to hit a target on Russia’s internationally recognized territory.
The WSJ linked the policy shift to President Donald Trump’s effort to “entice” Moscow during peace talks. Last week, Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time since 2019 in Alaska, and several days later held talks with the leaders of Ukraine, NATO, the EU, and several European states in Washington.
Although Trump urged Moscow and Kiev to reach a peace deal as soon as possible, he said on Thursday that Ukraine has “no chance of winning” without striking Russia.
Trump has also criticized the previous administration for providing unconditional military aid to Ukraine and in February accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of “gambling with World War III.”
Russia has warned that by supplying Ukraine with weapons, Western countries are de facto directly participating in the conflict. Moscow has listed an end to foreign military aid as one of its conditions for a lasting ceasefire.
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