WASHINGTON / KYIV — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he may authorize the transfer of long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine if Russian President Vladimir Putin refuses to end the war, signaling a potentially dramatic escalation in U.S. support for Kyiv.
Trump made the remarks aboard Air Force One while en route to Israel, revealing that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy held two phone conversations over the weekend to discuss Kyiv’s request for advanced weaponry.
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Tomahawk cruise missiles have a range of 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) — enough to reach targets deep inside Russia, including Moscow. The Kremlin has repeatedly warned that supplying such weapons to Ukraine would mark a “new stage of aggression.”
Trump said the U.S. would not sell the missiles directly to Kyiv but could channel them through NATO, allowing the alliance to provide them to Ukraine. “If the war is not settled, we may very well do it,” Trump told reporters. “Do they want Tomahawks going in their direction? I don’t think so.”
President Zelenskiy emphasized that Ukraine would use Tomahawks only for military purposes, not against civilians. “We never attacked their civilians — that’s the big difference between Ukraine and Russia,” Zelenskiy said on Fox News.
He added that Kyiv was still negotiating the details of a potential missile deal with Washington, saying, “We count on such decisions, but we’ll see.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that operating Tomahawks would require direct U.S. military involvement, which he said would trigger a “qualitatively new stage of escalation.”
Still, Zelenskiy appeared undeterred, saying in his nightly address that Moscow’s concern was “a sign of fear.” “Russia is afraid that the Americans may give us Tomahawks — that kind of pressure may work for peace,” he said.
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The Tomahawk debate comes amid heightened global volatility as Trump’s trade war with China reignites and world leaders prepare to meet in Egypt to discuss ceasefire efforts in Gaza.
The war in Ukraine remains Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II, with Moscow framing it as a clash with the West over influence in Eastern Europe — and Kyiv vowing to continue its fight against what it calls Russia’s imperial aggression.
If Washington moves forward with the Tomahawk proposal, it would mark the most advanced Western weaponry yet provided to Ukraine, potentially reshaping the balance of power in the 32-month-long war.