The Trump administration took one basic limitation to Ukraine’s use of some long-range missiles supplied by Western allies, allowing Kiev to step up attacks on targets inside Russia and increase pressure on the Kremlin, US officials cited by the Wall Street Journal said.

Ukraine fired a cruise missile on Tuesday Storm Shadow (photo), supplied by Britain, in order to strike a Russian factory in Bryansk that produced explosives and rocket fuel, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced on social media. He characterized the attack as “successful hit” which penetrated Russian air defenses.

The surprise move by the US to allow Kiev to use the missile on Russia it comes after the recent transfer of authority to support such attacks from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon to the top American general in Europe, General Aleksus Grinkiewicz, who also serves as NATO commander.

The shift in US stance coincided with President Trump’s initiative in early October to press the Kremlin for talks to end the war, including the possibility of authorizing the sending of missiles to Kiev Tomahawk American-made, which have a range of over 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers). Trump has since withdrawn that proposal.

But U.S. officials have said they expect Ukraine to conduct more cross-border attacks using Storm Shadows, which are launched by Ukrainian aircraft and have a range of more than 180 miles. (290 kilometers). The US can limit Ukraine’s use of Storm Shadow because the missiles use US targeting data.

In a statement, a White House official said: “This is a war that would never have happened if President Trump had been president, which President Putin himself has acknowledged, and President Trump is trying to stop it. The president also negotiated a historic deal that allows NATO allies to buy American-made weapons.”

Ukraine’s renewed use of Storm Shadow does not change the facts on the battlefield. They have a much shorter range than the US Tomahawks, and have been used to hit targets in Russia in the past. But the missiles allow Kiev to expand its attacks inside Russia.

Former President Joe Biden approved Ukraine’s use of Storm Shadow and US ATACMS missiles against targets inside Russia towards the end of his term. But after Trump took office, the Pentagon enacted a review process to authorize cross-border attacks using US missiles or missiles from other countries, including Storm Shadow, based on US targeting data.

According to the mechanism, the Secretary of War he had the last word on whether Ukraine could use Western long-range weapons to strike Russia. No attacks had been authorized until recently, so the authority to authorize such attacks was returned to the European Command, two US officials said.

Ukraine also conducts attacks inside Russia with domestically produced drones and a small number of domestically produced missiles. Many of the attacks have targeted Russian oil refineries and energy infrastructure. The Wall Street Journal reported in September that Trump consented to the sharing of this targeting data; which mainly include oil refineries.

“As it has proven, Ukraine is incredibly capable of striking deep inside Russia at legitimate military targets that enable the Kremlin’s pointless war, which has strained its economy and killed or injured more than a million Russians,” said NATO spokesman Colonel Martin O’Donnell. “He doesn’t need our permission.”

Last week Trump expressed interest in holding a second summit with Putin in Budapest to discuss ending the war, but talks between the two governments quickly collapsed. Trump said on Tuesday that such a meeting would be “waste of time”. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is scheduled to meet with Trump at the White House on Wednesday.

Senator Angus King, who met with Rutte for an hour on Wednesday morning, said that while the Tomahawk mission would strengthen Ukraine’s “dealing card” against Putin, the US should be able to have a say in what targets Kiev is hitting.

“If we could have some control over the targets, that they would only target military facilities and only facilities that supported the attack on Ukraine, I think we would it was an effective measure to convince Putin that he is not going to win this war,” King pointed out to reporters on Wednesday.

The decision to lift the restriction on Storm Shadow was made before Zelenskiy met with Trump at the White House last week, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Zelensky was looking for Tomahawks, which would greatly expand Kiev’s long-range strike power if delivered in sufficient numbers. Trump’s rejection of the request has limited the West’s negotiating leverage with Moscow, analysts said.

The US recently approved the sale to Ukraine 3,350 missiles extended-range missiles, or ERAMs, which have ranges from 150 (241 km) to 280 miles (451 km). The Biden administration also provided ATACMS missiles, which have a range of nearly 200 miles (321 kilometers), but have not been used against targets inside Russia since Trump returned to the White House.

Ukraine has a small remaining stock of ATACMS. The Trump administration has not specified whether it is willing to send more, or whether the US European Administration will approve their use.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pledged to “increase pressure on Russia’s economy and defense industry” until Russian President Vladimir Putin “be ready to make peace.”