According to two government officials on Wednesday, the United States will provide Ukraine with intelligence information on high-value targets in Russia's energy infrastructure.
US officials said the US was also asking NATO allies to provide similar support, confirming information first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Washington has long shared intelligence with Kyiv, but according to the Wall Street Journal, it will now be easier for Ukraine to target infrastructure such as refineries, pipelines, and power plants to deprive the Kremlin of its oil revenues.
This is the first time the US has provided support for Ukrainian long-range strikes deep into Russian territory.
Tomahawks
The move comes at a time when the United States is also considering Ukraine's request for Tomahawk missiles, which have a range of 2,500 km. From Ukraine, these could easily reach Moscow and large parts of European Russia.
Ukraine has also developed its own long-range missile called Flamingo, but the number of units produced is unknown as it is still in the early stages of production.
According to US officials quoted by the newspaper, the approval of additional intelligence information came shortly before Trump suggested on social media last week that Ukraine could recapture all of its territory occupied by Russia if it received support from the EU and NATO. Russia currently occupies and controls one-fifth of Ukraine.
Oil revenues
Trump is pressuring European countries to stop buying Russian oil in exchange for imposing tough sanctions on Moscow to dry up its war funding.
"President Trump is a special kind of politician. He likes quick fixes, but this is a situation where quick fixes don't work,“ Russia's UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said Wednesday at a press conference marking the start of Russia's presidency of the UN Security Council.
Nebenzya also quoted Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as saying that a possible delivery of Tomahawks to Ukraine would ”not change the situation on the battlefield."
Energy revenues remain the Kremlin's main source of funding for the war, which is why oil and gas exports have become a key target of Western sanctions.
Trump took steps to impose secondary tariffs on India to pressure New Delhi to stop buying cheap Russian oil. He also lobbied countries such as Turkey, while urging the EU to completely wean itself off Russian sources before the planned start date of 2028.
The seven leading industrial nations (G7) said on Wednesday they would take joint steps to increase pressure on Russia by targeting those who continue to increase their purchases of Russian oil and enable its circumvention.
(reuters, est)