Pentagon restricts Ukraine’s use of US missiles against Russia, WSJ reports
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US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has final say over the use of the long-range weapons.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON - The Pentagon has been quietly blocking Ukraine from using US-made long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems to strike targets inside Russia, limiting Kyiv’s ability to employ these weapons in its defence against Moscow’s invasion, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Aug 23, citing US officials.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
The news came as US President Donald Trump has grown more frustrated publicly over the three-year-old war and his inability to secure a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
After his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin meeting with European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
“I’m going to make a decision as to what we do and it’s going to be, it’s going to be a very important decision, and that’s whether or not it’s massive sanctions or massive tariffs or both, or we do nothing and say it’s your fight,” he said.
He had hoped to arrange a bilateral meeting between Mr Putin and Mr Zelensky, but that has also proven difficult.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told American media outlet NBC on Aug 23 that there was no agenda in place for a sitdown with Mr Zelensky.
“Putin is ready to meet Zelensky when the agenda would be ready for a summit. And this agenda is not ready at all,” Mr Lavrov told NBC, saying no meeting was planned for now.
As the White House sought to persuade Mr Putin to join peace talks, an approval process put in place at the Pentagon has kept Ukraine from launching strikes deep into Russian territory, the Journal reported.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has final say over the use of the long-range weapons, WSJ said.
Neither Ukraine’s presidential office nor the Defence Ministry immediately responded to Reuters’ request for a comment outside business hours. The White House and the Pentagon also did not immediately respond to requests for comment. REUTERS
