'Fake news': Trump denies giving Ukraine permission to strike Russia with Western weapons

The issue of supplying and using long-range missiles by Ukraine remains highly sensitive and continues to spark debates even among the country’s allies.

Donald Trump has now clarified whether the United States had given such permission, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.

According to Trump, the report is "fake news," and the US has no involvement with those missiles, regardless of their origin or how Ukraine uses them.

"The Wall Street Journal story on the USA’s approval of Ukraine being allowed to use long range missiles deep into Russia is FAKE NEWS! The US has nothing to do with those missiles, wherever they may come from, or what Ukraine does with them!" Trump said in his post.

For reference, The Wall Street Journal reported on October 22, citing US officials, that Washington had allegedly given Ukraine permission to strike military targets deep inside Russian territory.

The article claimed that Kyiv could use British-made Storm Shadow missiles, which have a flight range of over 180 miles (about 300 km).

Background on Ukraine's long-range missile supply

In May 2023, the United Kingdom announced the delivery of Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine, precision-guided long-range weapons capable of hitting targets more than 250 km away.

Discussions about providing Ukraine with ATACMS missiles (range up to 300 km) and Tomahawks (up to 1,600 km) have taken place, but due to escalation risks and a limited number of launch systems, the United States has not supplied these systems to date.

However, the US has shared intelligence data enabling Ukraine to target Russia’s energy infrastructure, a sign of Washington’s evolving support policy toward Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the Kremlin fears not the missiles themselves, but Ukraine’s ability to combine them effectively with other weapons.

He noted that even the mention of potential Tomahawk deliveries causes panic in Moscow.