Opinion
Robert McCoy
Fri, August 22, 2025
THE NEW REPUBLIC
If another country were to bomb an American-owned factory on foreign soil, one might expect—at the very least—harsh condemnation from the sitting U.S. president.
The anticipated response from a president who enjoys a reputation as both a champion of American business and a tough guy on the world stage would be even fiercer.
But President Donald Trump fell far short of such expectations on Friday, when he was asked about Russia’s strike on the Ukrainian branch of the American electronics manufacturer Flex.
The president mustered only five words—and none very forceful.
“I told [Putin], ‘I’m not happy about it,’” the president said, before immediately changing the subject. “I’m not happy about anything having to do with that war.”
Overnight, Russia hit the factory with two missiles, injuring at least 15, according to Ukraine. About 600 workers had reportedly been at work but took cover prior to impact as air raid sirens sounded. An estimated third of the plant burned down, per the Ukrainian military.
In a statement on X, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia had “practically burned down an American company producing electronics—home appliances, nothing military. The Russians knew exactly where they lobbed the missiles. We believe this was a deliberate attack against American property and investments in Ukraine.”
Andy Hunter, the president of the Ukrainian affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, described the strike as “not only an attack on Ukraine” but “an attack on American business,” which he said is being “destroy[ed] and humiliat[ed]” by Russia.
As Trump quickly changed the subject Friday, he resorted to his oft-repeated lie about having ended several wars during his second term. The president had previously said he ended six of them. Recently, he added a mysterious seventh conflict to that claim.
“I settled seven wars,” Trump continued Friday, before loosening the criteria for the tally in order to bolster the figure. “Actually, if you think about pre-wars, add three more, so it would be 10.”
Russia deliberately destroys a US factory based in Ukraine
THE SILENCE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE IS DEAFENING
RUBIO TOO
Russia launched a record number of drones and missiles on August 21 and specifically targeted a US company's factory based in Ukraine, UBN reported.
The Russians fired at least two cruise missiles at the US company Flex owned by a company with headquarters in both Texas and Singapore that is located in Transcarpathia, injuring 19 people.
The facility in Mukachevo, a city 30km from the Hungarian border, is a household appliance and electronics factory making things like coffee machines, which has invested around $24.5mn. Officials said 19 people were injured, and some 600 employees were on shift but had taken shelter after an air raid warning.
The timing of the strike will undermine ongoing peace deal negotiations. Following the White House summit on August 18 where Zelenskiy met with top European officials and Trump, preparations have started for a bilateral or trilateral meeting involving Zelenskiy, Putin and maybe Trump. However, the Kremlin is sticking to a hard line and the destruction of the Flex factor will only make those negotiations harder. Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, has lambasted the Western allies, accusing them of trying to derail the peace talks in recent remarks. He said a peacekeeper for Ukraine proposal currently being discussed would be “absolutely unacceptable for Russia”. Putin has also repeatedly said that no talks can start until the “root causes” of the war are addressed. He repeated again this week that any deal should be based on the terms agreed at the 2022 Istanbul peace deal.
Zelenskiy said in his evening address: "The Russians knew exactly where they lobbed the missiles. We believe this was a deliberate strike specifically on American-owned property here in Ukraine, on American investments. A very telling strike. As is this entire massive attack – right as the world awaits a clear answer from the Russians, an answer on negotiations to end the war."
"The Russians delivered this blow as if nothing had changed at all. As if there were no efforts by the world to stop this war. A reaction is needed to this. There is still no signal from Moscow that they are ready for meaningful negotiations and to end this war. Pressure is needed. Strong sanctions, strong tariffs," President Zelenskiy said in his evening address to the people.
Andy Hunder, the long-serving head of the US Chamber of Commerce, rubbed the point in by travelling to the Flex factory and released an impassioned video blog with the wrecked factory in the background. He said that the attack was not just on a Ukrainian factor but on US business interests in Ukraine.
“I am at the site of a truly horrendous Russian missile attack,” said Hunder. “Overnight, one of the largest American investments in Ukraine – Flex – an active member of the American Chamber of Commerce was hit by Russian missiles. This was not only an attack on Ukraine. It was an attack on American business. Two missiles struck the factory, where 600 employees were working the night shift. Thanks to strict safety protocols, every life was saved. Russia is not only devastating Ukraine — it is destroying and humiliating American business.”
Flex said on August 21 it is still assessing the missile strike’s damage to the factory, which “does not produce, supply or support” any defence-related components, the Financial Times reported.
In a wry remark, Yulia Svyrydenko, the new prime minister, said “the enemy decided to ‘liberate’ Ukraine from coffee machines”. Hunder reported that a third of the 700 foreign companies that are members of AmCham have had an employee killed in the last three years of war. Other US firms that have had their facilities in Ukraine overrun or damaged include Boeing, Coca-Cola and the agriculture group Cargill.
The same night, the Russians also attacked Ukraine's gas transportation infrastructure for the second time in a week in retaliation to a new Ukrainian attack on the Druzhba oil pipeline from Russia to Hungary.
In Russia’s massive attack, civilian infrastructure, residential buildings, and civilians were hit by Russian weapons. On the night of August 21, the Russian army deployed a record number of air attack vehicles into Ukraine: 574 drones and 40 missiles, many of which were shot down by Ukraine's air Defence forces.
Rescuers also responded in many other regions across Ukraine, from Zaporizhzhia to Volyn.
The attack on the Flex factory is significant as during the negotiation for a minerals deal signed on April 30, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was insisting that the US provide security guarantees as part of the deal. US President Donald Trump refused, saying the mere fact that the companies exploiting Ukraine’s minerals were American meant that Russia would not dare attack them for fear of provoking a US response.
Pentagon has blocked Ukraine from striking deep inside Russia – report
Edward Helmore
Sat, August 23, 2025
A multistory residential building damaged in shelling by US-supplied Atacams, according to the Russian defence ministry, in Luhansk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, on 7 June 2024.Photograph: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
US defense officials have blocked Ukraine from using US-supplied long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia since late spring as part of a Trump administration effort to get Vladimir Putin to engage in peace talks , according to a report on Saturday.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the Pentagon has blocked Ukraine from using US-made Army Tactical Missile Systems, or Atacms.
Two US officials told the outlet that on at least one occasion, Ukraine had sought to use Atacms against a target but was denied under a “review mechanism” developed by Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s undersecretary for policy, that governs how US long-range weapons or those provided by European allies that rely on American intelligence and components can be used.
The review process also applies to Britain’s Storm Shadow cruise missile because it depends on US targeting data, according to two US officials and a British official, the Journal said.
The review system reportedly gives US defense secretary Pete Hegseth approval over the use of the Atacms, which have a range of nearly 190 miles (305km). Ukraine was previously given authority by the Biden administration to use the missile system against targets inside Russia in November after North Korean troops entered the war.
Before the inauguration in January, Trump told Time magazine that the decision to allow Ukraine to use US weapons systems to attack targets inside Russia had been a mistake.
“I disagree very vehemently with sending missiles hundreds of miles into Russia. Why are we doing that? We’re just escalating this war and making it worse. That should not have been allowed to be done,” he said.
It is unclear whether the US defense department’s review process amounts to a formal policy change. But it comes alongside increasing control of munitions to Ukraine as US stocks are themselves depleted.
Related: Russia rules out European troops in Ukraine as Trump makes veiled threats
In a statement to the Journal, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump “has been very clear that the war in Ukraine needs to end. There has been no change in military posture in Russia-Ukraine at this time.”
But last week, amid efforts to broker talks between the Russian president and Voldomyr Zelenskyy, Trump said that Ukraine couldn’t defeat Russia unless it could “play offense” in the war.
“It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invader’s country,” Trump wrote on Thursday. “It’s like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defense, but is not allowed to play offense. There is no chance of winning.”
Last month, the US agreed to supply Ukraine with new weapons systems but only if European nations paid for them. While Trump has said that the US is “not looking” to provide longer-range weapons that could reach Moscow, US officials told the Journal that the administration has approved the sale of 3,350 Extended Range Attack Munition air-launched missiles, or Erams, which have a range of 280 miles (400km).
Reuters
Sat, August 23, 2025
FILE PHOTO: The Pentagon building is seen in Arlington, Virginia, U.S.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Pentagon has been quietly blocking Ukraine from using U.S.-made long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to strike targets inside Russia, limiting Kyiv's ability to employ these weapons in its defense against Moscow's invasion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing U.S. officials.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
The news came as U.S. President Donald Trump has grown more frustrated publicly over the three-year-old war and his inability to secure a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
After his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and a subsequent meeting with European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy failed to produce observable progress, Trump said on Friday that he was again considering slapping Russia with economic sanctions or, alternatively, walking away from the peace process.
"I'm going to make a decision as to what we do and it's going to be, it's going to be a very important decision, and that's whether or not it's massive sanctions or massive tariffs or both, or we do nothing and say it's your fight," Trump said.
Trump had hoped to arrange a bilateral meeting between Putin and Zelenskiy, but that has also proven difficult. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told NBC on Friday that there was no agenda in place for a sitdown with Zelenskiy.
"Putin is ready to meet with Zelenskiy when the agenda would be ready for a summit. And this agenda is not ready at all," Lavrov told NBC, saying no meeting was planned for now.
As the White House sought to persuade Putin to join peace talks, an approval process put in place at the Pentagon has kept Ukraine from launching strikes deep into Russian territory, the Journal reported.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has final say over use of the long-range weapons, the Journal said.
Neither Ukraine's presidential office nor the defence ministry immediately responded to Reuters' request for a comment outside business hours. The White House and the Pentagon also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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