The Trump administration’s plan to send long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine may face serious challenges, US officials say, because most of the missiles are already reserved for the US Navy and other military missions.
Vice President JD Vance said Sunday that Washington is considering Ukraine’s request for Tomahawks, which could reach far into Russia, including Moscow. The US also plans to give Ukraine intelligence on Russian energy targets, Reuters reported Wednesday.
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According to The Telegraph, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky requested long-range cruise missiles from Trump during a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Sept. 23.
US Special Representative Keith Kellogg confirmed on Fox News that Zelensky had indeed made the request. Kellogg added that a decision on providing Tomahawks has not yet been made and remains solely with Trump, according to the White House.
Sources familiar with Tomahawk missile training and supplies told Reuters that delivering the missiles to Ukraine would be difficult. While there is no shortage of the weapons, current inventories are largely committed, and other shorter-range options could be supplied instead.
US officials also said European allies could potentially purchase long-range weapons and transfer them to Ukraine, but Tomahawks are unlikely.
President Donald Trump has recently changed how he talks about the war in Ukraine, saying Kyiv could take back all Russian-held land and calling Russia’s military a “paper tiger.” Part of this shift is the US helping Ukraine target Russian energy infrastructure.
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Russian leader Vladimir Putin spoke at the annual Valdai Club meeting in Sochi on Thursday. He called Europe’s military build-up “dangerous” and warned that Russia would respond.
He cited German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s pledge to build Europe’s strongest army, saying, “It seems that the response to these threats will be, to put it mildly, very convincing.”
When asked about US plans to give Tomahawks to Ukraine, Putin said it would be “a whole new level of escalation, including in relations between Russia and the United States.”
On Monday, the Kremlin said that the transfer of US long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine will not affect the situation on the front.
“There is no panacea that can currently change the situation on the frontlines for the Kyiv regime. There is no magic weapon, be it Tomahawks or missiles – they cannot change the dynamics,” Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said.
Peskov added that Russian authorities are closely monitoring statements by senior US officials discussing the possible provision of cruise missiles to Kyiv.
The US Navy, the primary user of Tomahawks, has bought almost 9,000 missiles since the 1980s at an average cost of $1.3 million each. Production in recent years has ranged from 55 to 90 missiles a year, with 57 planned for 2026.
The Tomahawk has a range of up to 2,400 km. Russian media report that if transferred, Ukrainian forces could strike as far as Tyumen in the east and Murmansk and Arkhangelsk in the north. In total, the missiles could cover roughly 60 regions in European Russia, the Urals, and Siberia, including Moscow and St. Petersburg.
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