Pentagon quietly blocked the Ukraine's long-distance shelter strikes on Russia

Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limit all rights reserved. US President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky meeting at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, February 28. (AFP) Summary The Department of Defense has withheld approval for attacks, as the White House tried to attract Moscow to open peace conversations. Washington-The Pentagon has been striking the use of Ukraine of long-distance missiles in Russia for months, US officials said, who Limited Kyiv to employ a powerful weapon in the fight against the invasion of Moscow. An approval procedure at high-level defense, which was not announced, prevented Ukraine from shooting at any US-made long-term actionic missile systems, or ATACMs, against targets in Russia, officials said. On at least one occasion, Ukraine tried to use Atacm’s at a target in the Russian area, but was rejected, two officials said. The US veto of long -distance strikes limited the Military Operations of Ukraine, as the White House tried to start the Kremlin until the beginning of peace talks. Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon Secretary of Policy, developed the ‘judging mechanism’ to decide on Kyiv’s requests to fire the US manufactured weapons at long distance, as well as those provided to Ukraine by European allies relying on US intelligence and components. The review gives Defense Minister Pete Hegseth says whether Ukraine can employ the Atacm’s, which has a series of nearly 190 miles, to halt Russia. “President Trump was very clear that the war should end in Ukraine. There was no change in military attitude in Russia-Ukraine at the moment,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. ‘Secretary Hegseth works in Lockstep with President Trump.’ The Pentagon and Ukrainian officials did not return requests for comment. In June, Ukrainian infantry was part of an attempt to stabilize the front line amid a Russian offensive. The Pentagon’s approval requirement has reversed a decision by former President Joe Biden in his final year in office to stop Ukraine in Russia with Atacms. In a social media post on Thursday, Trump said that Ukraine Russia could not defeat unless it could “offend the war” in the war, which lasted more than three years after Moscow’s invasion. “It is very difficult, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking ‘the invasive country, he wrote on social media on Thursday. “There’s no chance to win!” US officials said Trump’s statement does not indicate a policy change that will give up some of the Pentagon’s judging mechanism or encourage the use of ATACMs and other Western systems on the long -distance of Ukraine. But a senior White House official said Trump could change his mind about facilitating extensive offensive operations against Russia. As president’s election, Trump said it was ‘stupid’ of Biden to allow Ukraine in Russia. “We just escalate this war and make it worse,” he said in a December interview with Time. US Atacm’s and other long-distance weapons, such as Britain’s storm Shadow Cruise missile, were not yet game changes for Ukraine. But this has enabled the Russian command and control headquarters and airports far from the front lines, because it has its benefits in manpower, weapons and resources. The Pentagon Review procedure also applies to the use of the Ukraine Storm Shadow, as it rely on US target data according to two US officials and a UK official. The British government declined to comment. Trump threatened to increase sanctions against the Kremlin and rates on its major trading partners unless Moscow agreed to a ceasefire. But a decision on this was postponed to his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which Kremlin chief Trump convinced that he was serious about peace. In July, Trump promised to provide new weapons with Kyiv, as long as Europe agreed to pay for them, a decision that came to a short break in US weapons shatters, while the Pentagon investigated whether there were shortages in his own stock. Trump told reporters that month that “we are not looking” to provide longer distance weapons to target Moscow. Although the US has not announced any plans to provide more missiles, other types of weapons that European governments buy from the US could help Ukraine within its own borders. It contains air defense systems and the guided multiple launch rocket system, which has a series of 90 miles. This week, the administration approved the sale of 3.350 extensive attacking attack-munition air-skipped missiles or Erams, which will arrive in Ukraine within about six weeks, two US officials said. The $ 850 million weapons package, mostly funded by European countries and which includes other items, has been postponed until after Trump’s summit with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodyery Zelensky. Several US officials said the use of the Eram, with a series between 150-280 miles, would require the Ukraine to get approval from the Pentagon. The State Department did not make a request for comment. George Barros of the Institute for the War Study, which carefully monitored Ukraine conflict, said Russian officials have since publicly complained about Atacms strikes against their area, although they regularly occurred when attacks took place in the past. The Biden Administration provided hundreds of atacms to Ukraine in 2023. The restrictions on Atacms attacks in Russia that were initially imposed under Biden were removed in the fall of 2024 after North Korean troops entered the war with Russia. According to US officials, the last of the ATACMs authorized to be sent to Ukraine by the Biden Administration. Ukraine has developed some of his own long -distance weapons to stop targets in Russia, especially drones he used to stop Russian oil refineries and aircraft. Zelensky said last week that his country is developing a new speed missile – the Flamingo – which can be produced in significant quantities by the end of this year or early next year. “Drones are ideal for certain things, but they also have their own vulnerabilities,” said James Townsend, who served as the top official of NATO issues during the Obama administration about the restrictions on the use of ATACMs. “You don’t want to limit the Ukrainian ability to put the Russians under pressure.” In addition to approving approval for rocket attacks, Colby, the Pentagon’s third ranking that has long been concerned about hiring Pentagon resources to ward off China, has tightened control over additional ammunition for Ukraine. In a memo in June, he erected three categories – green, yellow and red – because he judged whether American inventory weapons were sufficient to allow some to be shared with Kyiv. The green category consisted of systems that the US had in abundance and which could be readily provided to Ukraine, while yellow and red systems are in a shorter offer. This gave Hegseth the authority to regain weapons systems earmarked for Ukraine that fell into the yellow and red categories. Write to Alexander Ward on [email protected], Michael R. Gordon at [email protected] and Lara Seligman on [email protected] Catch all the business news, market news, newsletters and latest news on Live Mint. Download the Mint News app to get daily market updates. More Topics #russia Ukraine War #Donald Trump Read Next Story