US President Donald Trump emphasized the need for the United States to have Tomahawk cruise missiles one day before an important meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. During a conversation with reporters, he highlighted that these missiles are necessary not only for allies but also for ensuring the security of the US itself.
This is reported by Kyiv24
“We also need Tomahawks. There are many of them, but we need them. We could exhaust our own supplies. I don’t know what we can do about that,” he told reporters.
Discussions on supplying Tomahawks to Ukraine
Trump reported that during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he discussed the possibility of transferring Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. According to him, Putin reacted negatively to this idea. These negotiations took place ahead of Zelensky’s visit to the White House, during which the issue of supplying long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine is expected to be addressed.
On October 7, Trump reaffirmed his position, stating that he does not rule out the transfer of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine if Russia does not cease its aggression. At the same time, he emphasized the need for prior discussions on this matter with representatives of the Russian Federation.
Russia’s reaction and characteristics of Tomahawk
On October 2, Vladimir Putin stated that the supply of American long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine would represent “an entirely new level of escalation” in relations between Moscow and Washington. He attempted to downplay the significance of these missiles, calling them “not quite modern” and assuring that their use would not change the balance of power on the battlefield.
Tomahawk missiles, produced by RTX, have a range of up to 1,000 miles (over 1,600 km) and surpass the American ATACMS systems already used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (with a range of up to 190 miles). Additionally, Tomahawks are noted for their greater speed and power compared to the drones that Ukraine uses for strikes deep into Russian territory, which are often destroyed by the enemy’s modern air defense systems.
Over the past year, Ukraine has repeatedly appealed to its partners for long-range weapons. Furthermore, Kyiv is actively developing its own systems — “Palyanytsya” and “Flamingo” — but their combat characteristics fall short of the capabilities of Tomahawk.