The United States is considering Ukraine’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles, 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 as Moscow if those weapons were provided to Ukraine.
When asked whether Washington would accept Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s request to obtain Tomahawk missiles, Vance replied: “We’re looking at it. We’re certainly looking at a number of requests from the Europeans.”
If the sale proceeds, the weapons will be paid for by European nations, Vance told Fox News. He noted that 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. 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,” he said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was analysing Vance’s comments.
“The question, as before, is this: who can launch these missiles … ? Can only Ukrainians launch them, or do American soldiers have to do that?” he said.
“Who is determining the targeting of these missiles? The American side or the Ukrainians themselves?” Peskov added, saying “a very in-depth analysis” was required.
He added that 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. There’s no magic weapon. And whether it’s Tomahawks or other missiles, they won’t be able to change the dynamic,” Peskov said.
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.
“I think reading what he [Trump] has said, and reading what Vice President Vance has said … the answer is yes. Use the ability to hit deep. There are no such things as sanctuaries,” Kellogg told Fox News later on Sunday.
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 stated on Truth Social.
Trump said that Russia’s faltering economy, shortages at home, and growing public discontent could tip the balance 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 they want with them.”
Trump made the post after meeting with Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Sept. 23. Zelenskyy said that 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 stated 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 a peace deal could involve territorial swaps, Zelenskyy has ruled out ceding any land to Russia.
Trump’s latest post marked a departure from that stance, as peace efforts between the two nations have produced few results.
Tom Ozimek and Reteurs contributed to this report.
What will fire those tommohawks?