The Pentagon has blocked Ukraine’s long-range missile strikes on Russia for months

The Pentagon has for months been blocking Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles to strike inside Russia, US officials said, limiting Kyiv from employing a powerful weapon in its fight against Moscow’s invasion.

A high-level Defense Department approval procedure, which hasn’t been announced, has prevented Ukraine from firing any US-made long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems, also known as ATACMS, against targets in Russia since late spring, officials said.

Ukraine previously said the restrictions on long-range strikes constrained its ability to fight Russia and to defend itself. Two officials said that Kyiv had attempted to use ATACMS against Russia, but was rebuffed on at least one occasion.

“President Trump has been very clear that the war in Ukraine needs to end. There has been no change in military posture in Russia-Ukraine at this time,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

Trump said earlier this week it is “very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invader’s country.” Before taking office, he said in December he disagreed “very vehemently with sending missiles hundreds of miles into Russia.”

Ukraine signed up to a US ceasefire proposal back in March. Russia refused to consent, and has since offered little indication it will move on its demands while resisting confirmation of a direct meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelensky.

How to end this war in a way that both Russia and Ukraine can stomach still remains elusive.