U.S. to give Ukraine intelligence on long-range energy targets in Russia

The United States will provide Ukraine with intelligence on long-range energy infrastructure targets within Russia, two officials told Reuters on Wednesday (1 October), as it weighs whether to send Kyiv missiles that could be used in such strikes.

The U.S. is also asking NATO allies to provide similar support, the U.S. officials said, confirming details first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

The decision represents the first known policy change that President Donald Trump has signed off on since hardening his rhetoric toward Russia in recent weeks in an attempt to end Moscow's more than three-year-long war in neighbouring Ukraine.

Washington has long-been sharing intelligence with Kyiv, but the Wall Street Journal said it will now be easier for Ukraine to hit infrastructure such as refineries, pipelines and power plants with the aim of depriving the Kremlin of revenue and oil. 

Trump has been pressing European countries to stop buying Russian oil in exchange for his agreement to impose tough sanctions on Moscow in a bid to try to dry up funding for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Neither the White House nor Ukraine's mission to the United Nations immediately responded to separate requests for comment from Reuters. Russia's U.N. mission in New York declined to comment.

The move comes as the United States also considers a Ukrainian request to obtain Tomahawks, which have a range of 2,500 km (1,550 miles) - enough to hit Moscow and most of European Russia if fired from Ukraine.

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