US considers supplying Ukraine long-range Tomahawk missiles via Europe

The United States is reviewing Ukraine’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles to aid its fight against Russian forces, Vice President JD Vance said on Sunday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked the US to approve the sale of Tomahawks to European countries, which would then transfer the weapons to Ukraine. Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” Vance said President Donald Trump would make the “final determination” on whether to authorise the arrangement.

”We’re certainly looking at a number of requests from the Europeans,” Vance said.

Tomahawk missiles have a range of 2,500 km (1,550 miles), and would be a powerful asset in Ukraine’s arsenal as it fights back against regular barrages of Russian missile and drone attacks.

Such a weapons delivery would almost certainly be seen by Russia as an escalation in its war in Ukraine.

Trump has denied Ukraine’s requests for use of long-range missiles in the past but has grown frustrated at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to reach a peace deal.

Vance also said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has stalled with little in the way of territorial gains recently.

”We’ve been actively pursuing peace from the very beginning of the administration, but the Russians have got to wake up and accept reality here. A lot of people are dying. They don’t have a lot to show for it,” he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this week asked U.S. President Donald Trump for Tomahawk missiles to force Russian President Vladimir Putin to make peace, Axios reported on Friday.
The request came during Zelenskyy and Trump’s meeting alongside the United Nations General Assembly, according to the report, which cited a Ukrainian official and another source familiar with the two leaders’ meeting.

Zelenskyy told Axios in a separate interview taped Wednesday that he had requested long-range weapons.

With inputs from agencies