U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he is considering offering long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not end the war. Speaking aboard Air Force One en route to Israel, Trump revealed he had discussed the matter with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during phone calls over the weekend.
Tomahawk missiles, capable of striking targets up to 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) away, could reach deep inside Russian territory, including Moscow. The Kremlin has already warned that supplying such weapons to Ukraine would mark a “new step of aggression.” Trump emphasized that the United States would not sell the missiles directly to Kyiv but could provide them through NATO allies. “If the war isn’t settled, we may very well do it,” Trump said, hinting at a possible escalation.
Zelenskiy stated that Ukraine would use Tomahawks strictly for military purposes and not against civilians. “We never attacked their civilians — that’s the difference between Ukraine and Russia,” he said in an interview with Fox News. The Ukrainian leader expressed optimism about securing the missiles, saying discussions with Washington were ongoing.
Putin has previously argued that Ukraine cannot use Tomahawks without direct U.S. involvement, calling such a move a “qualitatively new stage of escalation.” Despite this warning, Zelenskiy maintained that Russia’s concern underscored the effectiveness of American support. “Russia is afraid of Tomahawks — that pressure may work for peace,” he said in his nightly address.
The war in Ukraine remains Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II, with Moscow framing it as a battle against Western dominance. Ukraine and its allies continue to portray it as a fight for sovereignty and a stand against Russian imperialism.