What could go wrong?
I mean the Russians wouldn't blame us, now would they?
Posted on 08/23/2025 5:10:51 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
WASHINGTON, Aug 23 (Reuters) - The Pentagon has been quietly blocking Ukraine from using U.S.-made long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to strike targets inside Russia, limiting Kyiv's ability to employ these weapons in its defense against Moscow's invasion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing U.S. officials.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
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The news came as U.S. President Donald Trump has grown more frustrated publicly over the three-year-old war and his inability to secure a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
After his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and a subsequent meeting with European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy failed to produce observable progress, Trump said on Friday that he was again considering slapping Russia with economic sanctions or, alternatively, walking away from the peace process.
"I'm going to make a decision as to what we do and it's going to be, it's going to be a very important decision, and that's whether or not it's massive sanctions or massive tariffs or both, or we do nothing and say it's your fight," Trump said.
Trump had hoped to arrange a bilateral meeting between Putin and Zelenskiy, but that has also proven difficult. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told NBC on Friday that there was no agenda in place for a sitdown with Zelenskiy.
"Putin is ready to meet with Zelenskiy when the agenda would be ready for a summit. And this agenda is not ready at all," Lavrov told NBC, saying no meeting was planned for now.
As the White House sought to persuade Putin to join peace talks, an approval process put in place at the Pentagon has kept Ukraine from launching strikes deep into Russian territory,...
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Bravo, Mr. President!
Maybe Germany can be encouraged to supply long-range missiles to Ukraine. Then the Russians can blame Germany - they're used to bickering over the last century so it won't be a big deal.
WIKI
Designed 1986
Manufacturer Lockheed Martin
Unit cost M39: $820,000 (FY1998) (or ~$1,476,000 FY2022)
M57: ~$1,700,000 (FY2021)
No. built 3,700
Specifications
Mass 3,690 pounds (1,670 kg)
Length 13 feet (4.0 m)
Diameter 24 inches (610 mm)
Wingspan 55 inches (1.4 m)
Maximum firing range 190 mi (300 km)
Warhead Block 1: 950 M74 bomblets
Block 1A: 300 M74 bomblets or 213 kg WDU-18/B HE blast/fragmentation unitary warhead or 247 kg WDU-40/B HE blast penetration
Block 2: 13 BAT [Brilliant Anti-armour Technology] submunitions
Flight ceiling 160,000 ft (50 km)
Maximum speed Supersonic, in excess of Mach 3 (0.6 mi/s; 1.0 km/s)
GPS-aided inertial navigation guidance
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATACMS
Trump is a smart guy.
He’s going to be getting an analysis of sanction impact if he went maximum with them. And he has seen the uselessness of them thus far. He has also been quoted recently that they cost the US a lot of money.
And by now Tulsi has forwarded the recent hacker access of Ukraine MoD casualty numbers of 1.7M with the requisite caveat that this is not confirmed, and then the addendum that all other casualty numbers provided also are not confirmed.
Blah blah blah. My read is . . . the bone breaking sanction bill is not going to happen, not for any Ukraine reason, but because the Continuing Resolution presently in effect expires Sept 30, and the Dems will prevent 60 votes for more or less anything.
So the fight in the Senate starts, to try to craft the next CR. There will simply be no time for Graham’s warmongering.
Way past time for the US to cut all ties from Ukraine and the EU. Both are grifters. Part II, reinstate Trade and Commerce with Russia, they have much of what the West needs…the EU has absolutely nothing ( no energy, no commodities, etc,,,) of what is needed by the world.
Both are beggar Nations, both are more of a threat to the US than Russia is.
Trump’s restriction on Tactical Missile Systems does not prevent YouCrayne from going on Offense and taking their land back from Ruzzia.
You don’t need Tactical Missile Systems to do that.
Just lots of warm male Ukie Bodies.
Zelensky can take several actions to get those warm male bodies he needs.
1- Lower Draft age to include 18-26 Year Olds.
2- Increase the number of Snatch and Grab FORCED CONSCRIPTION Squards
Roaming the Streets of YouCrayne Cities.
That could also add to his warm body needs.
Two thumbs up.
Fight Russia to the last Ukrainian life!
That’s the ticket!
$1.5 million per missile with a 50 km range and only 3,700 ever built, vs 15k per Shaheed drone with a 1,000 km range and 500 delivered DAILY. Plus the regular roster of Kinzals, Granits and cruise missiles
Excellent....They were given with the condition that they not be used inside Russia....Then Biden said it was okay.
F’n Reuters. Trash
Or Britain or France, after all, there are those little incidents called “ The Crimean War”, or “ The Russian Civil War interventions”. But yes, let us not die for Europe.
“the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday”
But Trump just criticized Biden for not allowing Ukraine to strike Russia.
Seems to be disagreements within Trump admin, just as when pentagon stopped weapons shipment to Ukraine without informing Trump.
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump
It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invaders country. It’s like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defense, but is not allowed to play offense. There is no chance of winning! It is like that with Ukraine and Russia. Crooked and grossly incompetent Joe Biden would not let Ukraine FIGHT BACK, only DEFEND. How did that work out? Regardless, this is a war that would have NEVER happened if I were President - ZERO CHANCE.
Interesting times ahead!!! President DJT Aug 21, 2025, 9:35 AM
I was just reading this story.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has approved the sale of 3,350 Extended Range Attack Munitions (ERAM) to Ukraine, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The deal, worth $850 million, is largely financed by European countries and is expected to deliver the first systems in about six weeks.
Don’t know if it’s true or not.
Looks like Ukraine has solved that issue by making their own long range missiles. Plenty of targets within occupied Ukraine for US missiles.
Not sure what these munitions are but by math they come up to 250k each, not a lot for a sophisticated system.
Little more research
Looks like an anti air system including ballistic missiles, and with increased production per unit cost could drop to around 50k
I believe anti air is a future version.
The ERAM program, launched to meet the needs of the Ukrainian military, explores various modular subsystems, including the Fixed Wing Air-Launched Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems Ordnance (FALCO). The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Armament Directorate, based at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is overseeing the project.
The ERAM, currently in Phase 1 of development, aims to create a 226-kilogram precision munition with a range of up to 400 kilometers and the ability to operate in GPS-degraded environments.
The FALCO subsystem, intended for counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) roles, could be integrated into future ERAM variants. The US Air Force’s focus on more affordable air-to-air capabilities stems from the necessity to counter drones and subsonic cruise missiles in the modern warfare era.
The ERAM’s potential as an air-to-air interceptor with a 400-kilometer range could provide a significant advantage, especially against less reactive targets. With the corresponding upgrades, it could be an ideal loitering munition for aerial anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) against drones and cruise missiles.
https://asiatimes.com/2025/02/eram-us-air-forces-next-gen-drone-killer-or-boondoggle/#
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