WSJ: US to share intel with Ukraine for long-range missile strikes on Russian energy sites

The US is to share intelligence with Ukraine allowing Kyiv to launch missile strikes on energy infrastructure deep inside Russia, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Wednesday.

Citing unnamed US officials, the WSJ said US President Donald Trump recently gave the green light for US intelligence agencies and the Pentagon to assist Kyiv with the strikes, with Washington also attempting to persuade its allies in NATO to provide “similar support”.

Intelligence officials are currently “awaiting written guidance from the White House” before they begin sharing targeting data, one individual familiar with the situation told the WSJ.

While the US has long shared battlefield intelligence to facilitate Ukrainian strikes on Russian military targets close to the border between the two countries, the new directive will make Kyiv “better able to hit refineries, pipelines, power stations and other infrastructure far from its borders”, the WSJ said, “with the goal of depriving the Kremlin of revenue and oil to sustain its invasion”.

On top of intelligence sharing, the WSJ said Washington was also considering providing Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles, which have a range of over 2,400 kilometres, as well as Barracudas and other US-produced missiles with ranges of around 800 kilometres. Though no decision has yet been made, such deliveries would significantly bolster Kyiv’s ability to strike targets deep inside Russian territory, the WSJ added.

The apparent shift in US policy comes amid Trump’s evident frustration at the lack of progress towards peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv, with an anticipated face-to-face meeting between Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky failing to materialise despite Trump’s attempts to persuade the Russian leader to negotiate with Kyiv during their Alaska summit in August.

Last month, Trump appeared to dramatically change his tone on the war after a meeting with Zelensky on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, writing on his Truth Social platform that he had got to “know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia military and economic situation” and now believed Kyiv was “in a position to fight and win” back all of its territory currently occupied by Russia.

In August, the WSJ reported that the Trump administration had been covertly blocking Ukraine from striking Russia with long-range missiles, effectively reversing the policy of former US president Joe Biden, who in November finally approved Kyiv’s use of US-made weapons to strike targets deeper inside Russia.