Pentagon Clears Way for Long-Range Missiles to Ukraine as US Plans Troop Reductions in Eastern Europe

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief

WASHINGTON/KYIV/BRUSSELS/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – The Pentagon has approved plans to supply Ukraine with Tomahawk long-range missiles, while preparing to scale back the U.S. military presence in Eastern Europe, signaling a significant shift in America’s strategy toward both the war and its NATO military alliance commitments.

Officials said the U.S. Defense Department, also known as the Department of War, concluded the delivery of Tomahawk systems would not “negatively affect U.S. stockpiles.” The missiles, with a range of roughly 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles), would allow Ukraine to strike Russian military targets far behind the front lines.

However, President Donald J. Trump has not yet approved the transfer. He earlier told reporters he was reluctant to provide the missiles because, in his words, “we don’t want to give away things we need to protect our own country.” The final decision, sources said, now rests with him.

At the same time, the United States is expected to withdraw or reassign troops from several allied nations, including Bulgaria, Hungary, and Slovakia, as early as next month. According to officials cited by the Kyiv Post newspaper, the Pentagon believes European militaries are now “better equipped than in the past to defend against external threats.”

Earlier this week, Romania confirmed that the U.S. is already reducing its presence at a key air base near the Black Sea. NATO said it had been informed of the move, insisting that it “does not endanger readiness along the Alliance’s eastern flank.”

The number of U.S. soldiers to be withdrawn has not been made public, but alliance sources say rotational deployments and intelligence cooperation will continue as part of ongoing NATO missions in the region.

NUCLEAR WARHEAD

The shift in U.S. posture comes as Russia steps up its use of banned weapons in Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Friday that Moscow has deployed the Novator 9M729 cruise missile at least 23 times since August.

The 9M729, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead with a range of about 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles), was secretly developed by Russia in violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, according to sources familiar with the situation. That reported violation prompted the U.S. to abandon the Cold-War-era pact in 2019.

Sybiha said: “Russia’s use of the INF-banned 9M729 over recent months shows President Putin’s lack of respect for the United States and for President Trump’s diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.”

It came while Ukraine extradited a captured Russian soldier to Lithuania to stand trial for alleged war crimes — the first such handover since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. The man is accused of torturing detainees at a detention center in Melitopol in 2022, including a Lithuanian citizen, officials said.

The Lithuanian prosecutor’s office said the suspect “used electric shocks on prisoners and suffocated them until they lost consciousness.”

Ukraine has accused Russia of committing more than 180,000 war crimes, with about 200 Russian nationals already convicted in Ukrainian courts.

EUROPOL INVESTIGATION

In a separate investigation, Europe’s police organization Europol said police in Moldova and Ukraine have identified 654 members of the Wagner and Redut mercenary groups suspected of war crimes, including sexual violence and executions of prisoners.

Authorities conducted 70 raids last week, seizing weapons, ammunition, and Wagner symbols.

Eleven Ukrainians have been charged with high treason for joining the Russian mercenary formations, Europol said.

The missile approvals, U.S. troop withdrawals, and expanding war-crimes probes illustrated that the conflict has spread beyond the battlefields of Europe’s most significant land conflict since World War II.

Latest Worthy News