American officials confirmed on Sunday that the U.S. Department of Defense (Pentagon) has imposed restrictions on Ukraine’s use of American long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia.

According to officials cited by The Wall Street Journal, an internal approval mechanism within the Pentagon has prevented Ukraine from launching any ATACMS long-range missiles against Russian targets since late last spring. They confirmed that Kyiv had requested at least once to use these missiles on a target inside Russian territory, but the request was denied.

The Pentagon developed a “review mechanism” to evaluate Ukraine’s requests to use U.S.-supplied long-range weapons, as well as those provided by European countries, based on intelligence data.

This mechanism grants U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth the final authority to approve the use of ATACMS missiles, which have a range of approximately 190 miles, for strikes inside Russia.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stated that “President Trump has been clear that the war in Ukraine must end, and there is currently no change in the military situation between Russia and Ukraine.”

This review process effectively reversed a decision made by former President Joe Biden in his final year in office, which had allowed Ukraine to use ATACMS missiles inside Russia.

While ATACMS and other long-range weapons like the British “Storm Shadow” missiles have not been considered game-changers in the war, they have enabled Ukraine to threaten Russian command centers and airbases far from the front lines.

Trump had previously threatened to increase sanctions on the Kremlin and impose tariffs on its key trade partners if Russia refused to agree to a ceasefire. However, he postponed the decision following his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.