Trump might give Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine — could they be a game-changer in the war?

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that he's considering sending Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, saying it would supply "a caller measurement of aggression" successful its warfare with Russia.

As the president travelled connected Air Force One to the Middle East connected Monday, archetypal to Israel and past Egypt for talks connected finalizing a bid woody for Gaza, erstwhile asked if helium would nonstop Tomahawks to Ukraine, Trump replied "we'll see... I may."

He besides signaled helium could usage the proviso of Tomahawks to unit Russia to extremity the war, telling reporters: "I mightiness accidental 'Look: if this warfare is not going to get settled, I'm going to nonstop them Tomahawks.'

"The Tomahawk is an unthinkable weapon, precise violative weapon. And honestly, Russia does not request that," helium said, according to comments reported by Sky News.

Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy person discussed the imaginable proviso connected Tomahawk missiles, which would let Ukraine to motorboat robust counter-attacks against Russia.

But the U.S. president is keeping his cards adjacent to his thorax regarding whether helium volition really nonstop the missiles to Ukraine. He said Monday that helium would telephone Russian President Vladimir Putin to sermon the matter. No specified telephone has been scheduled, arsenic yet, according to comments from the Kremlin connected Monday.

Russia has warned that immoderate proviso of long-range cruise missiles to Kyiv would beryllium seen arsenic a "serious escalation."

Tomahawks are subsonic cruise missiles and tin onslaught targets precisely from 1,000 miles away, adjacent successful heavy defended airspace, according to U.S. shaper Raytheon.

Designed for striking precocious worth oregon heavy defended onshore targets, Tomahawks tin beryllium fired from crushed launchers but are typically launched from ships oregon submarines, and tin beryllium equipped with accepted oregon atomic warheads. The missiles don't travel cheap, with a reported mean outgo of $1.3 cardinal each.

First developed successful the 1970s, they are utilized by the U.S. subject and person been purchased — oregon with agreements to acquisition — by a fig of allies, including the U.K., Japan, Australia and the Netherlands.

The latest version, called the Block IV Tactical Tomahawk, oregon TACTOM, has a information nexus that allows it to power targets portion successful flight. It tin loiter for hours and alteration people instantly connected command.

Raytheon notes that U.S. and Allied militaries person formation tested the GPS-enabled Tomahawk implicit 550 times and utilized it successful an operational situation much than 2,350 times. Its astir caller usage came successful 2024, erstwhile the U.S. and British navies launched Tomahawk missiles astatine Houthi rebel sites successful Yemen.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said past week that Moscow's enactment was waiting to spot the specifics of immoderate woody to proviso Tomahawks, but was scathing astir the prospect.

"This would beryllium a superior escalation which, however, wouldn't alteration the concern for the Kyiv authorities connected the beforehand lines. But it's important to recognize that, leaving speech the details, we're talking astir atomic susceptible missiles. Therefore, this is genuinely a superior escalation."

On Monday, erstwhile Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that immoderate Tomahawk proviso could extremity severely for everyone, including Trump. He noted that it's intolerable to separate betwixt Tomahawk missiles carrying atomic warheads and accepted ones aft they are launched.

"How should Russia respond? Exactly!" Medvedev said connected Telegram, successful comments translated by Reuters, seeming to hint that Moscow's effect would beryllium a atomic one.

Asked connected Monday astir Trump's comments that helium would speech to Putin astir Tomahawks, Peskov said "there are nary wide agreements connected a telephone call."

Ukraine and its supporters accidental the proviso of Tomahawks would greatly heighten the country's onslaught capabilities and the menace it poses to Russian assets, specified arsenic subject bases, vigor infrastructure and logistics hubs.

Supplying Tomahawks could, arsenic such, beryllium different propulsion origin that brings Russia to the negotiating array with Ukraine and its Western allies, peculiarly the U.S., wanting to spot an extremity to a warfare that Moscow began successful February 2022.

Ukrainian person Zelenskyy said successful his nightly code Sunday that Kyiv was moving intimately with the White House to fortify its antiaircraft capabilities, including its long-range capabilities.

"We spot and perceive that Russia fears the anticipation of the United States providing america with Tomahawks. It is simply a awesome that this benignant of unit tin beryllium effectual successful achieving peace. President Trump and I agreed that our teams and our subject volition beryllium moving connected each the matters we discussed," helium said.

As Trump looks to cement an extremity of hostilities betwixt Israel and Hamas, his attraction could good crook backmost to Russia, with the president already signaling waning patience with Putin.

In addition, Trump's publicized coveting of the Nobel Peace Prize (which helium missed retired connected this year) could assistance spur the president connected to present bid successful Ukraine.

"That Trump did not get the Nobel bid prize this clip could crook into bully quality for Europe. He wants the prize. But helium inactive has to gain it," Holger Schmieding, main economist astatine Berenberg Bank, noted Monday.

"If Trump were to enactment capable unit connected Putin to halt the warfare against Ukraine, the U.S. president would so beryllium the apical campaigner for the prize adjacent twelvemonth ... Media reports astir imaginable deliveries of U.S. Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine suggest that Trump is getting tougher with Putin. That would beryllium a start," Schmieding said.