The move severely compromises Kiev’s ability to launch long-range strikes against Russia, The Economist’s Oliver Carroll has claimed
The US has stopped providing Ukraine with the necessary data to use High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) for long-range strikes against Russia, according to Oliver Carroll, a staff writer for The Economist.
The decision came after officials in Washington confirmed that they had frozen military aid and intelligence support to Kiev following a spat between Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and US President Donald Trump.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Carroll wrote that “America cut a key intel link for alerts” at 2pm Kiev time. “Before that: targeting data for HIMARS. Ukraine also isn’t receiving realtime information for long-range strikes,” he added.
“Trump wanted a thank you,” an unnamed source told the journalist. “We will be writing it on graves of dead Ukrainians.”
The source was apparently referring to the US leader’s remarks in which he accused Zelensky of ingratitude for American aid to Kiev, which served as a prelude to the suspension of assistance.
At the same time, CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed that the US had suspended both intelligence sharing and weapons systems support to Kiev. However, he noted that the restrictions could be lifted if Ukraine demonstrated a commitment to peace negotiations with Russia.
The Washington Post reported, citing unnamed US and Ukrainian officials, that the freeze on intelligence sharing has resulted in Kiev no longer being able to “strike back at select targets inside Russia,” something which had been allowed – with some exceptions – by the administration of former US President Joe Biden.
A Ukrainian military officer told the outlet that over the past month “at least one of the Ukrainian groups responsible for launching rockets from the US systems has not received coordinates to strike more than about 40 miles beyond the line of contact between Russian and Ukrainian forces.”
Another WP source said that the Trump administration continues to share data only when it is necessary to protect Kiev’s troops under attack.
As of November 2024, the US had supplied more than 40 HIMARS systems to Ukraine, along with thousands of missiles, according to the Pentagon. It is unclear how many remain operational and how much ammunition Kiev still has in stock.
Moscow has repeatedly accused Kiev of using HIMARS – which has a range of up to 300km – to strike civilian targets.
Russia has consistently condemned Western arms shipments to Ukraine, arguing that they only prolong the conflict without changing its outcome. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that if the US were to halt military aid completely, it would “probably be the best contribution to the cause of peace.”
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