US Blocks Ukraine Long-Range Missile Strikes on Russia

Donald Trump is preventing Ukraine from firing long-range missiles into Russia in an effort to get Vladimir Putin to engage in peace talks.

The Pentagon introduced a review mechanism in the spring that is effectively preventing Kyiv from striking targets in Russian territory, US officials revealed.

The policy has meant that Ukraine has not been able to fire the US-made Army Tactical Missile System (Atacms) at Russian supply lines feeding Moscow’s grinding advance in eastern Ukraine.

The review system has also effectively barred Ukraine from cross-border strikes using the British-produced Storm Shadow, which is reliant on US targeting data.

The reports came ahead of a meeting on Monday of the coalition of the willing, intended to harden plans for a Europe-led peacekeeping force in Ukraine in the event a ceasefire is struck.

On Sunday, Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, insisted that Kyiv no longer had to rely on US approval to strike deep inside Russia, and had its own arsenal of long-range weapons.

“We haven’t been discussing such matters with the US lately,” he said at a joint press conference with Mark Carney, Canada’s prime minister, on Ukraine’s independence day in Kyiv. “At the moment, we are using our long-range domestically produced weapons.”

Russia said it had shot down Ukrainian drones over St Petersburg on Saturday night, while a huge fire broke out at a fuel terminal in the Ust-Luga port in the Gulf of Finland after it was targeted by at least ten drones.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s undersecretary for defence, introduced the review system granting final approval for any Atacms strike to Pete Hegseth, the defence secretary.

At least one request to use the Atacms has been rejected, US officials said. Ministry of Defence officials refused to comment on whether the UK government supported the US approach.

Mr Trump signalled earlier this week that he could revisit the decision amid signs of growing frustration at the apparent failure of his latest push for a peace deal. In a social media post on Thursday, he said that Ukraine’s fighting ability had been constrained by its inability to “attack” Russian territory.

“It’s like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defence, but is not allowed to play offence,” he wrote on Truth Social. “There is no chance of winning!”

The US president added: “Crooked and grossly incompetent Joe Biden would not let Ukraine FIGHT BACK, only DEFEND. How did that work out?”

The Trump administration reversed Joe Biden’s decision late last year to allow strikes deep inside Russia as it sought to lure the Kremlin into peace talks.

High-profile strikes with Western weapons could have derailed that process, it was feared.

US officials told the WSJ that Mr Trump’s statement did not call the Pentagon’s approval process into question, but said it could imply increased US support for expanded offensive operations against Russia.

On Monday, Sir Tony Radakin, Britain’s chief of the defence staff, will co-host the meeting of 30 countries from the so-called coalition of the willing.

Along with his French counterpart, he will brief them on his meeting in Washington with US defence officials.

These talks, last Wednesday, were described as “candid”. At the meeting, European leaders will discuss ways to urge Mr Trump not to give in to Putin’s demand for concessions.

Speaking in Kyiv, Mr Carney said he would not rule out putting Canadian boots on the ground to protect a peace deal.

“In Canada’s judgment, it is not realistic that the only security guarantee could be the strength of the Ukrainian Armed Forces ... that needs to be buttressed and reinforced,” Mr Carney said.

A firm series of commitments could persuade Mr Zelensky to eventually agree to a peace deal and bolster Mr Trump’s promise of providing US support.

However, talks have been hampered by a lack of concrete detail on the size and nature of each member of the coalition of the willing’s proposed contribution.

On Saturday, Paris summoned Italy’s ambassador over “unacceptable” comments made by deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini against Emmanuel Macron.

“Italian soldiers in Ukraine? Absolutely not. If Emmanuel Macron wants it, let him go himself. Put on a helmet, take a rifle, and go to Ukraine yourself,” the populist politician said last week.

Johann Wadepul, Germany’s foreign minister, has also said that the country’s army was likely too stretched to send any troops to Ukraine.