1:20This archival photograph illustrates a Tomahawk cruise missile being deployed from the guided missile cruiser USS Cape St. George, on March 23, 2003.Ho New/Reuters/Kenneth moll
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy conveyed on Thursday that conversations concerning a handover of military resources from the United States — notably its highly sought-after Tomahawk cruise missiles — has spurred Russian President Vladimir Putin to convene with President Donald Trump in Budapest, a fresh diplomatic arrangement that Trump revealed on Truth Social Thursday.
Trump’s declaration of a discussion with Putin — which he indicated would occur in the subsequent two weeks — arises one day prior to his engagement with Zelenskyy for the third occasion in Washington and as U.S. representatives have promoted a novel system through which European partners procure American-manufactured military equipment for Ukraine’s conflict.
Trump has speculated openly about the possibility of delivering the Tomahawks, which possess a range extending to 1,500 miles, to Ukraine, while Zelenskyy has expressed that a procurement of the long-distance armaments could reinforce its wartime endeavors.
Trump articulated that he and Putin "didn't elaborate much" on the subject of Tomahawks during a phone conversation Thursday, but they "did touch on it briefly." The president remained noncommittal regarding the likelihood of releasing the missiles from the U.S. arsenal, observing "we require Tomahawks for the United States."
Sailors attached to Navy Munitions Command Pacific, East Asia Division, Unit Guam, are loading UGM-109 Tomahawk missiles onto the Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Jefferson City, May 6, 2025.U.S. Navy
"We cannot exhaust [them] for our own nation," he stated. "I am uncertain what measures we can undertake concerning that."
Trump adopted a more assertive stance on Sunday, remarking "If this conflict is not resolved, I shall dispatch them Tomahawks."
Upon arriving in Washington Thursday, Zelenskyy posited that the agreement for a Budapest discussion was a consequence of the U.S's overt pressure.
"Moscow is swiftly moving to reinstate dialogue upon hearing about Tomahawks," he posted on X.
During a gathering of U.S. officials and a Ukrainian delegation in Washington, representatives from both factions greeted the news of a Trump-Putin session, according to a U.S. official. The officials surmised that Trump's dialogue with Putin might foster advancement for his engagement with Zelenskyy on Friday, the source indicated.
Tomahawks: Limited Quantity, Substantial Effect
The U.S. would necessitate prudence in allocating the missiles considering the "underinvestment" in its munitions stockpile, according to Tom Karako, the director of the Missile Defense Project at the Centers for Strategic and International Security.
The U.S. has previously employed the Tomahawks in "comparatively low-stakes operations," Karako noted.
"These constitute limited non-nuclear strategic assets, and their safeguarding and judicious use are paramount" for critical objectives, Karako elucidated. "Diminishing significant Russian assets appears to me as precisely the function for which they are well-suited."
The extensive range and substantial payloads achievable by the Tomahawks would "facilitate a 'Spiderweb' operation at a distance," Karako explained, alluding to Ukraine’s covert assault on Russian military resources utilizing drones concealed within Russia. "No necessity exists to smuggle items into Russia" if Ukraine is outfitted with Tomahawks and the requisite systems for launching them from land.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump convene in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 18, 2025.Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
However, the U.S. has only lately cultivated a very limited quantity of the ground-based launchers essential for the missiles, eliciting inquiries about its capability to supply Ukraine with launchers promptly.
The U.S. Army procured a prototype for the Typhon missile launcher in 2022 and has rendered it operational only in recent times. The Typhon is primarily a sizable tractor-trailer and lacks the maneuverability requisite for the battlefields of Ukraine.
Within its budgetary proposition for the ensuing year, the Marine Corps terminated its Long Range Fires program that became operational in 2023 in restricted quantities. That system similarly possessed the capacity to deploy Tomahawk missiles, but the Marine Corps determined it lacked sufficient mobility for its requirements.
The Army has presently assumed command of the program as a means to enhance the mobility constraints of its existing Typhon system.
Oshkosh Defense unveiled at a symposium of the Association of the U.S. Army this week a fresh, more-condensed vehicle from which Tomahawks can be launched.
The platform, which Oshkosh designates as “the vanguard of long-distance munitions,” is not presently in production, a company spokesperson informed ABC News.
Nevertheless, should the U.S. furnish the missiles and a corresponding platform, the weapons system could constitute a tactical threat to Moscow, Karako asserted.
Ukraine could anticipate "a suppressing effect on the ease with which Russia has been competent to function with impunity not far from the Ukrainian frontier," he appended.
They would almost certainly be accompanied by U.S. prerequisites for targeting, Karako mentioned.
"I would not anticipate them to traverse through the windows of the Kremlin," he conveyed.
Zelenskyy has pledged to utilize the armaments exclusively for "military objectives."
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet during a U.S.-Russia summit on Ukraine at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on Aug. 15, 2025.Andrew Caballero-reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
Shift in the Trump Administration’s Stance
Speculation regarding Tomahawks — and indications from Washington and Moscow — has emerged amidst a transformation in disposition from the Trump administration following the president’s bilateral engagement with Putin in Alaska, which did not generate the trilateral conference, encompassing Zelenskyy, that he sought.
The Kremlin has asserted that a transaction of Tomahawks by the U.S. would signify an "augmentation."
The Ukrainians, conversely, have designated other weaponry systems as constituting part of their desiderata, notably Patriot air defense mechanisms.
U.S. allies situated in Europe have been acquiring U.S. military assets intended for Ukraine by means of the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL — an endeavor initiated by Trump to equip Ukraine without expending U.S. resources and promoted by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a congregation of NATO allies Wednesday.
Within pronouncements in Brussels, Hegseth characterized Russia’s war in Ukraine as "sustained aggression," terminology he has previously been hesitant to employ.
"If this conflict does not cease, should there be no avenue to peace imminently, then the United States, in conjunction with our allies, shall undertake the necessary measures to impose consequences upon Russia for its ongoing aggression," Hegseth stated.
A European diplomatic informant apprised ABC News that Patriot air defenses originating from the U.S. have been deliberated within the PURL framework, but that novel arms transactions intended for Ukraine will substantially hinge upon the pivotal engagement between Trump and Zelenskyy on Friday.
Matthew Whitaker, the U.S. ambassador to NATO, indicated this week that Tomahawks would place "a substantial amount of Russian oil and gas infrastructure in jeopardy."
"Putin is destined to steadily diminish in strength," Whitaker remarked. The determination regarding whether to dispatch them to Ukraine, nonetheless, would be contingent upon the president, he clarified.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com