After Ukraine received permission in 2024 to strike deep into russia with ATACMS ballistic missiles and Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG cruise missiles, these weapons were used against multiple targets inside russian territory. At the time, the only real question was how many such missiles Ukraine's allies could give.
Now, however, there has been a step back. According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Department of Defense has been covertly prohibiting Ukraine from carrying out long-range strikes on russia for several months — at least since late spring this year.
Read more: Beyond ATACMS: What Alternatives Does Ukraine Have?
The Pentagon has developed a mechanism in secret that allows it to unilaterally decide whether Ukraine may use deep strike weapons against russia on a case-by-case basis. The "approval procedure" was developed by U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, who had earlier been accused of holding up defense aid to Ukraine.
Under this procedure, the U.S. Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, has full authority to block Ukrainian strikes not only with U.S.-made ATACMS, but also with other systems containing American components. Apparently, he also controls operations involving other weapons when U.S. intelligence is used to identify targets. This would effectively extend the ban to Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG cruise missiles as well.
The article cites at least one recent case where Ukraine requested an ATACMS strike against russia but was denied. It is also known that Ukraine still has a remaining stock of ATACMS after the last delivery in spring 2025.
Defense Express cautiously assumes that such restrictions were introduced to please President Donald Trump and support his political agenda, in particular his push to arrange direct negotiations between Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin on a peace deal.
Notably, Trump himself recently criticized his predecessor Joe Biden on social media, claiming Biden had failed for too long to authorize Ukrainian use of Western weapons against russia.
Read more: Biden Allowed Ukraine to Use ATACMS For Strikes Inside russia: What Targets They Can Reach
