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The Trump administration has approved the sale of 3,350 Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM) air-launched missiles (ALAMs) to Ukraine. The decision was made last week, according to The Wall Street Journal , citing two senior U.S. officials.
The deal is included in an $850 million military aid package, largely funded by European countries and including the delivery of a range of other weapons. However, its implementation has been delayed until after the summits between Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the publication notes. The missiles are expected to be delivered to the Ukrainian Armed Forces within six weeks. However, WSJ sources clarify that Kyiv will need Pentagon approval for their use.
The publication recalls that, even under the Biden administration, Ukraine received hundreds of ATACMS missile systems. Washington initially imposed restrictions on their use against targets in Russia, but these restrictions were lifted in the fall of 2024 after North Korean forces entered the war on Moscow's side. The last batches of ATACMS systems approved under Biden arrived in Ukraine in the spring of 2025, and according to US officials, Kyiv currently has only a small stockpile of these systems.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal emphasizes that the Pentagon has been blocking Ukraine's attempts to use long-range missiles to strike Russian territory for several months. According to the publication, Kyiv has at least once requested permission to use ATACMS against a target in Russia, but was denied. Sources say this was due to the White House's desire to avoid escalating the situation and encourage Moscow to negotiate.
As early as mid-July, Donald Trump stated that he had no intention of transferring long-range JASSM missiles to Ukraine and emphasized that Volodymyr Zelenskyy "should not strike Moscow." However, on August 21, the American president's position changed: after Russian missiles struck an American company's plant in Transcarpathia, Trump compared Ukraine's situation to that of a sports team that can defend itself well but is unable to attack. "It's impossible to win under these conditions," he noted, placing the blame on his predecessor, who, he claimed, prevented Kyiv from shelling Russian territory.
