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US Reportedly Lifts Restrictions on Ukraine’s Long-Range Missiles, Trump Denies Involvement

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Photo of Vlad Litnarovych
Vlad Litnarovych
News Writer
Ukrainian Su-24M armed with Storm Shadows/SCALP cruise missiles on a runway. (Source: Ukrainian Air Forces)
Ukrainian Su-24M armed with Storm Shadows/SCALP cruise missiles on a runway. (Source: Ukrainian Air Forces)

The Trump administration has reportedly lifted a key restriction on Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied long-range missiles, effectively giving Kyiv the green light to step up strikes inside Russia, US officials confirmed, according to the Wall Street Journal on October 22.

Ukraine’s General Staff said it recently used a British-made Storm Shadow cruise missile to hit a Russian plant in Bryansk that produced explosives and rocket fuel, describing it as a “successful hit” that penetrated Moscow’s air defenses.

UPD: In response to the Wall Street Journal’s report, US President Donald Trump dismissed claims that the US had approved Ukraine's use of long-range missiles to strike deep inside Russian territory. In a statement, Trump labeled the story “fake news,” asserting that the United States has “nothing to do with those missiles, wherever they may come from, or what Ukraine does with them.”

The quiet policy shift allows Ukraine to target Russian sites using Western missiles that rely on American targeting data. The move follows the transfer of strike-approval authority from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to US European Command chief Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, who also serves as NATO’s top commander.

US officials now expect Ukraine to conduct more cross-border operations using Storm Shadows, which can reach targets more than 180 miles away.

“This is a war that never would have happened had President Trump been President, something President Putin himself acknowledged, and President Trump is trying to get it stopped,” a White House official said in a statement.

While the move doesn’t dramatically change the battlefield, it restores the flexibility Kyiv lost when the Pentagon last year imposed a review system for strikes on Russian territory. That restriction effectively paused attacks using any Western-supplied missiles linked to US targeting systems.

According to the WSJ, Ukraine, meanwhile, continues to strike deep into Russia with domestically made drones and missiles, targeting refineries and energy hubs crucial to the Kremlin’s war machine.

“Ukraine is incredibly capable itself of striking deep inside Russia at legitimate military targets,” said NATO spokesman Col. Martin O’Donnell. “It does not need our permission.”

Trump has expressed interest in holding a second summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Budapest to discuss ending the war, though he dismissed the idea this week as a “waste of time.”

The decision to lift the Storm Shadow restriction was made before President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recent meeting with Trump at the White House, according to the WSJ.

Zelenskyy reportedly sought approval for Tomahawk missiles—a request Trump declined, limiting the West’s leverage with Moscow.

Ukraine still holds a small stockpile of US-made ATACMS missiles, but Washington hasn’t said whether it will send more or allow their renewed use against Russia.

Earlier, a joint statement released by European leaders and Zelenskyy vowed to “ramp up the pressure on Russia’s economy and defense industry” until Putin “is ready to make peace.”

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