The Wall Street Journal: Washington prevents Ukraine from using US missiles to strike Russia
The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that the Pentagon has barred Ukraine from using long-range US-made missiles to strike Russian territory.
According to US officials, that since the spring, the Pentagon has been preventing Ukraine from using US-made long-range tactical surface-to-air missile systems (ATACMS) to strike Russian territory.
The US Department of Defense’s policy advisor, Elbridge Colby, has established a review mechanism to review Ukraine’s requests to use ATACMS missiles and European systems linked to US intelligence, or parts thereof, officials said.
She confirmed that Ukraine had requested at least once to use US ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory during this period, but this request was rejected.
Officials explained that the final decision regarding Ukraine’s use of ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory rests with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has the authority to approve or reject their use, in accordance with the Pentagon’s review mechanism.
It should be noted that former US President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine’s use of US ATACMS missile systems last November to strike Russian territory.
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump criticized former President Joe Biden over the Russia-Ukraine war, asserting that Kyiv has no chance of winning the war against Moscow.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that Biden had only provided Ukraine with weapons to defend itself, and that “winning a war without attacking an occupying state is extremely difficult, if not impossible”.
He continued, “It’s like a great team in sports that has a good defense, but isn’t allowed to play in the offensive zone, so there’s no chance of winning… The same applies to Ukraine and Russia”.
