Washington/Kyiv/Moscow – According to the Wall Street Journal, the Pentagon is quietly blocking Ukraine from using U.S.-supplied ATACMS long-range missiles to strike deep inside Russian territory. Senior U.S. officials confirmed that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has the final say on whether these systems can be used.
The revelation comes at a critical moment. On Friday, President Donald Trump announced he is considering imposing new sweeping economic sanctions on Russia – or even pulling out of ongoing peace talks. “I will decide what we’re going to do, and it’s going to be a very important decision – massive sanctions, massive tariffs, both, or nothing at all – and we’ll say this is your war,” Trump told reporters.
Trump After Summit with Putin and Zelenskyy
His remarks followed a summit with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin and later meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders. Trump had hoped to broker a direct sit-down between Putin and Zelenskyy.
But Moscow pushed back. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told NBC that no such meeting with Zelenskyy was planned. According to the WSJ, while the White House sought to draw Putin into peace talks, Pentagon mechanisms simultaneously prevented Ukraine from carrying out strikes on distant Russian targets.
Growing Pressure on Washington
The report highlights the tug-of-war inside Washington: while the White House pushes diplomacy, the Pentagon keeps a tight grip on military escalation. For Kyiv, the message is clear – without Washington’s approval, its most advanced weapons remain idle.