Overview

• Months-long restrictions have blocked Kyiv from using U.S.-made ATACMS against targets inside Russia, the Wall Street Journal reported, including at least one rejected request.
• The high-level approval process gives Pete Hegseth the final decision on any ATACMS strike into Russia and was set up in late spring, with Le Parisien attributing its design to Pentagon policy official Elbridge Colby.
• U.S. officials cited by the reports say Ukraine holds a limited ATACMS stock, and some Western long-range systems such as the British Storm Shadow also rely on U.S. targeting data.
• The Biden administration had previously authorized deep strikes in November 2024 after supplying hundreds of ATACMS since 2023, a stance President Trump criticized before taking office.
• The White House says Trump wants the war to end and reports no change in battlefield posture, as Ukraine highlights tests of a domestic Flamingo missile and the U.S. approves a potential ERAM sale contingent on European funding.