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Trump Again Plays Down Prospects Of Tomahawk Deliveries To Ukraine

By RFE/RL November 03, 2025

US President Donald Trump indicated again he is not considering providing Tomahawk missiles to Kyiv -- which has pleaded for the long-range weapon it says is crucial to striking back against Russia as the Kremlin intensifies air strikes on Ukrainian cities.

Asked by a reporter aboard Air Force One on November 2 if he was considering providing the sophisticated cruise missiles to Ukraine, Trump said: "No, not really," although he later added he could still change his mind.

Trump has at times suggested the United States could provide Tomahawks to Ukraine, although he has more recently appeared to oppose the idea. His latest response could further serve to dampen hopes in Kyiv of receiving them.

On October 12, asked by reporters whether he would provide Kyiv with Tomahawks, Trump replied: "We'll see...I may."

"I might say, 'Look, if this war is not going to get settled, I may send [Ukraine] Tomahawks.' Russia doesn't need that."

"Do they [the Russians] want Tomahawks going in their direction? I don't think so," he added.

Five days later, though, Trump -- who has attempted to mediate a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia -- told reporters he hoped the conflict would end "without thinking about Tomahawks."

Trump has also expressed concerns about relinquishing Tomahawks -- which have a range of 1,600-2,500 kilometers -- that might be needed for the US military's own requirements.

"We need Tomahawks for the United States of America, too," he said. "We have a lot of them, but we need them. We can't deplete for our country...So I don't know what we can do about that."

However, CNN on October 31 quoted unnamed US and European officials familiar with the matter as saying the Pentagon had given the White House the green light to provide Ukraine with Tomahawks after determining it would not negatively hit US stockpiles. Neither the Pentagon nor White House commented on that report.

Following a meeting in Washington on October 17, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he and Trump had discussed Tomahawks, but he appeared less optimistic about the prospects of receiving the sophisticated missiles after the talks.

"The Ukrainians didn't come expecting it to happen, so in that sense it's not exactly a disappointment," Jeremy Shapiro, research director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, told RFE/RL after the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting.

Russia Warns Against Tomahawk Deliveries

Moscow has previously warned Washington not to provide Ukraine with Tomahawks, with President Vladimir Putin saying such deliveries would represent a "completely new stage of escalation" between the United States and Russia.

The matter of the Tomahawks comes as Putin said Russia had successfully tested the nuclear-powered, nuclear-weapon capable Burevestnik cruise missile and is seeking ways to deploy it, alarming many in the West.

In an interview with CBS TV's 60 Minutes, conducted on October 31 and broadcast on November 2, Trump said that Russia and China conduct nuclear tests but "don't talk about it." Trump last week said the United States planned to resume nuclear weapons testing.

Ukrainian Strikes Russian Energy Sites

As Russia's full-scale invasion nears the four-year mark, Ukraine is seeking the Tomahawks to weaken Russia's war effort by striking oil and energy facilities deep inside its territory.

Ukraine has continued to hit energy sites in Russia even without the Tomahawks, using drones that have less explosive punch than the US-made missiles.

On November 2, Ukraine said a drone attack had hit Russia's Black Sea port of Tuapse, setting an oil tanker ablaze and damaging port infrastructure, in the latest of a series of strikes on Moscow's crucial oil sector.

"The security service continues to strike at Russian oil refining infrastructure, which gives the enemy resources for aggression against Ukraine," a Ukrainian security source told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service.

Russian officials confirmed the strike, saying that "fragments of [drones] fell on an oil tanker, damaging the deck superstructure. A fire broke out on the vessel. The crew were evacuated."

Also on November 2, Zelenskyy said Germany had provided Ukraine with additional US-made Patriot air defense systems.

He did not specify when this happened or how many systems or missiles were provided. The United States does not deliver the Patriots directly; instead, they are sold to NATO member nations, which transfer them to Kyiv.

"We have strengthened the Patriot component of our Ukrainian air defense. I thank Germany and personally Chancellor Friedrich Merz for this joint step of ours to protect lives from Russian terror," Zelenskyy wrote on social media.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/tomahawk-missile-trump-ukraine- russia-zelenskyy/33579864.html

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.