By Independent News Roundup
The Pentagon has for months been blocking Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles to strike inside Russia, U.S. officials said. So reported the Wall Street Journal on Aug. 23. A high-level Defense Department approval procedure, which hasn’t been announced, has prevented Ukraine from firing any U.S.-made ATACMS missiles, against targets in Russia since late spring, the officials said. On at least one occasion, Ukraine sought to use ATACMS against a target on Russian territory but was rejected, two officials said.
Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s under secretary for policy, developed the “review mechanism” to decide on Kyiv’s requests to fire long-range U.S.-made weapons as well as those provided to Ukraine by European allies that rely on American intelligence and components. The review mechanism, says the Journal, replaced the blanket approval that the Biden Administration had given to Ukraine in late 2024 to use U.S.-supplied long-range weapons against targets inside Russia. The Pentagon review procedure also applies to Ukraine’s use of Britain’s Storm Shadow as it relies on U.S. targeting data, according to two U.S. officials and a British official.
The Wall Street Journal article also reported that the Trump Administration approved the sale of a missile called the Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM), 3,350 of them to be exact. The sale is to be funded by European governments. However, several U.S. officials said use of the ERAM, with a range between 150-280 miles, would require Ukraine to seek approval from the Pentagon.
In other words, Ukraine can acquire them but can’t use them without U.S. permission.
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