Trump Seeks Clarification on Ukraine’s Intended Use of Tomahawk Missiles

U.S. President Donald Trump said he wants to understand how Ukraine intends to use U.S.-made Tomahawk missiles before deciding whether to authorize their transfer.

The Gaze reports this, referring to Reuters.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, Trump confirmed that he has “sort of made a decision” on the matter but stopped short of revealing his stance.

“I think I want to find out what they're doing with them. Where are they sending them?” he told journalists. “I guess I'd have to ask that question. I'm not looking to escalate that war.”

The remarks came amid ongoing discussions within the U.S. administration about whether to approve Kyiv’s request for long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles, which have a range of roughly 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) – enough to place Moscow within striking distance if deployed by Ukrainian forces.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has proposed that the United States sell Tomahawks to European allies, who would then transfer them to Ukraine as part of coordinated defense assistance.

However, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin warned that if Washington proceeds with providing Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine for long-range strikes deep into Russian territory, it would “destroy” Moscow’s diplomatic relationship with the United States.

Earlier reports suggested that U.S. officials were divided over the feasibility of transferring Tomahawks, with some warning that current missile stockpiles are allocated for the U.S. Navy and other strategic purposes.

As The Gaze previously reported, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the Kremlin is actively trying to prevent the United States from supplying long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, fearing that such weapons would give Kyiv the ability to strike deep inside Russian territory. 

In particular, ISW’s assessment indicates that at least 1,655 Russian military facilities lie within the 1,600-kilometer range of the Tomahawk, while up to 1,945 sites could be targeted using the extended 2,500-kilometer variant.