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By Ellie Cook
Senior Defense Reporter
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President Donald Trump is weighing up sending long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine, a move that Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned would destroy Washington's relations with Moscow but could make a real difference to Ukraine's war effort—and send a strong political signal to the Kremlin.
Vice President JD Vance hinted in September that the U.S. could finally acquiesce to Ukraine's request for supplies of the Tomahawk sea-launched missile, which has an estimated range of roughly 1,550 miles. Russia's rough equivalent is its Kalibr cruise missile, which it has frequently fired at Ukraine.
Trump's efforts to secure a ceasefire in Eastern European countries have yielded little in the way of concrete results, and he has appeared somewhat more willing to make Russia uncomfortable as time has worn on.
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Trump said he "may" send the missiles when fielding questions from journalists on Air Force One, en route to Israel overnight into Monday. "We'll see," the Republican added.
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"I might say 'Look: if this war is not going to get settled, I'm going to send them Tomahawks,'" Trump said.
“We may not, but we may do it. I think it’s appropriate to bring up,” he added.
Russia says it will damage relations with the U.S. if Trump greenlights the transfer, and that it would be an "escalation" of the conflict because Kyiv would need U.S. assistance to use the cruise missiles. No decision appears to have been made, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday he had spoken with Trump twice in two days and discussed "strengthening" Ukraine, including the country's long-range capabilities.
Experts say the missiles would supplement Ukraine's arsenal of offensive weapons, but no missile in itself would be a gamechanger for Kyiv's war effort.
Ukraine has cultivated stockpiles of home-grown long-range missiles, like its Neptune anti-ship missile and the Flamingo ground-launched cruise missile, in the face of emptying Western shelves and restrictive conditions on how donated weapons are utilized. But Kyiv does still need to be able to wield Western weapons too, said Oleksandr Merezhko, the chair of Ukraine's parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee and a member of Zelensky's party.
"We need Tomahawks," Merezhko told Newsweek. "I don't believe in silver bullets," he said, "but it might be extremely important."
"Ukraine's efforts to strike targets deep inside Russia would still benefit greatly from the possession of Tomahawk cruise missiles," said William Freer, a research fellow for national security at the Council on Geostrategy, a U.K.-based think tank. The U.S. has at least "several thousand" Tomahawks, and while it would likely only send a small number to Ukraine because of concerns of whether Washington would need them in the Indo-Pacific, it would still boost Kyiv, Freer told Newsweek.
Either way, how many missiles Ukraine ends up with should remain murky to dissuade Russia from launching its persistent cruise missile attacks on its neighbor, Dan Rice, a former aide to Ukraine's commander in chief and the president of American University Kyiv, told Newsweek. Rice has frequently lobbied for Ukraine to receive U.S. weapons like Tomahawks.
Tomahawk missiles would be "a great addition to the Ukrainian missile arsenal to allow it to strike more Russian military-related targets inside Russia at a greater range," said John Foreman, a former U.K. defense attache to both Moscow and Kyiv.
Ukraine striking far across the border into Russia has been a thorny issue for years in Kyiv's relationship with Washington, although the Joe Biden administration finally greenlit Kyiv's use of American Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles as it left office in 2024. ATACMS have a range of roughly 190 miles. The Wall Street Journal reported in August the Pentagon, under current Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, had quietly stopped Ukraine from using Western weapons in Russia that hinged on U.S. support.
Political Signaling
Trump is hoping to use the prospect of Tomahawks to push Russian President Vladimir Putin back to the negotiating table, Foreman told Newsweek. "Russia realizes this."
The missiles are providing Trump with a tool to nudge Putin to negotiate "in earnest," agreed Merezhko. "Were Tomahawks to be transferred to Ukraine, it would send a powerful political signal that Russia may have now missed its window of opportunity to leverage pressure from Washington to Kyiv," added Freer.
Despite an in-person summit with Putin in Alaska in August, Trump has failed to bring to life his promise to end Europe's largest land conflict since World War II in 24 hours. His administration has still resisted slapping Moscow with punishing sanctions, but Putin told a Russian state media reporter this month that the U.S. sending Tomahawks would spell the "destruction of our relations."
Dmitry Medvedev, the current deputy chair of Russia's security council, said on Monday the "delivery of these missiles could end badly for everyone," before adding: "Most of all, for Trump himself."
Trump and Medvedev, both known for sharing blunt statements on social media, have publicly clashed. While Trump labeled Medvedev—a former Russian president—a "stupid person," he's "not irrelevant," Merezhko said. Medvedev can often articulate what Putin refrains from saying, but likely believes, he said.
Update 10/13/25, 1:26 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Dan Rice.
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