US Considering Ukraine’s Request for Tomahawk Missiles: Vance

The United States is considering Ukraine’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said in a Fox News interview aired on Sept. 28.

With a range of about 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles), Tomahawk missiles would enable Kyiv to reach targets as far away as Moscow.

When asked whether Washington would accept Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s request for Tomahawk missiles, Vance said: “We’re looking at it. We’re certainly looking at a number of requests from the Europeans.”

If the sale proceeds, the weapons would be paid for by European nations, Vance told Fox News. He said President Donald Trump would make the “final determination” on whether to grant Kyiv’s request.

“What the president is going to do is [based on] what’s in the best interest of the United States of America,” he said. “That’s the driving light between his foreign policy decisions, between his defense policy decisions, and that will be the same heuristic that we apply to how we answer this question about Tomahawks.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia is analyzing Vance’s comments.

“The question, as before, is this: Who can launch these missiles?” he said, noting that “a very in-depth analysis” is required.

“Can only Ukrainians launch them, or do American soldiers have to do that? Who is determining the targeting of these missiles? The American side or the Ukrainians themselves?”

According to Peskov, Tomahawks would not be a game changer.

“Even if this happens, there’s no panacea that can change the situation on the front for the Kyiv regime right now,” he said. “There’s no magic weapon. And whether it’s Tomahawks or other missiles, they won’t be able to change the dynamic.”

U.S. special envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg said Trump has indicated that Kyiv should now be able to conduct long-range strikes on Russia.

“[Based on] what [Trump] has said, and … what Vice President Vance has said … the answer is yes,” Kellogg told Fox News on Sept. 28. “Use the ability to hit deep. There are no such things as sanctuaries.”

The comments followed Trump’s post on Sept. 23, in which he said that Ukraine, with backing from Europe and NATO, is now in a position to fight Russia and retake all occupied territories.

“After getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia Military and Economic situation and, after seeing the Economic trouble it is causing Russia, I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form,” Trump said on Truth Social.

According to Trump, Russia’s faltering economy, shortages at home, and growing public discontent could tip the scales further in Ukraine’s favor.

The president wished both countries well and said the United States would continue to supply weapons to NATO “for NATO to do what [it wants] with them.”

Trump made the post after meeting with Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City on Sept. 23. Zelenskyy said he discussed with Trump steps to “truly push Russia to change its position and stop the war.”

“We also count on strong steps from the United States,” Zelenskyy said on X, without elaborating. “The world has tools that can work in a genuinely peace-making way.”

Trump has sought to mediate a peace deal aimed at ending the Russia–Ukraine war, which has been ongoing since February 2022. While he previously suggested that a peace deal could involve territorial swaps, Zelenskyy has ruled out ceding any land to Russia.

Trump’s latest post is a departure from that stance, as peace efforts between the two nations have produced few results.

Tom Ozimek and Reuters contributed to this report.