President Trump on Wednesday rejected a report from the Wall Street Journal that the U.S. had given approval for Ukraine to launch missiles deep into Russian territory, distancing itself from strikes carried out by Kyiv using British long-range rockets targeting Russian military facilities.
The president was responding to reporting in the Journal that pointed out the U.S. can restrict Ukraine’s use of British-supplied cruise missiles, called Storm Shadow, because the missiles use American targeting data.
“The Wall Street Journal story on the U.S.A.’s approval of Ukraine being allowed to use long range missiles deep into Russia is FAKE NEWS!” Trump posted on his social media site Truth Social.
“The U.S. has nothing to do with those missiles, wherever they may come from, or what Ukraine does with them.”
The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces on Tuesday said it used air-launched Storm Shadow missiles to strike Russia’s Bryansk Chemical plant, adding that the chemical plant produces gunpowder, explosives and rocket fuel used in ammunition and missiles used against Ukraine.
The Journal reported that NATO Commander, Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, who is also head of U.S. European Command, was recently transferred the authority for supporting such attacks from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, citing two anonymous U.S. officials.
The Journal included a response from the White House in its story that did not deny its reporting, but underscored the president’s repeated claims that Russia would not have invaded Ukraine if he was president in 2022 and that he has revitalized NATO.
