Pentagon 'greenlights' Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine, final decision up to Trump

According to CNN, three US and European officials familiar with the matter said the Pentagon gave the White House the green light to provide Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles, after assessing that it would not negatively impact the US stockpile. This move puts the final political decision in the hands of President Donald Trump.

In early October, President Trump, during a working lunch with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, said that he did not want to provide missiles to Ukraine because "we don't want to give away things that we need to defend our country."

The Joint Chiefs of Staff briefed the White House on their assessment earlier this month, shortly before President Trump met with Mr. Zelensky, who has repeatedly pushed for the transfer of missiles that more effectively target oil and energy facilities deep inside Russia.

The assessment has emboldened US European allies, who believe the US now has less reason not to provide the missiles, two European officials said. President Trump also said just days before meeting Mr Zelensky that the US had “a lot of Tomahawks” it could potentially provide to Ukraine.

As a result, US and European officials were surprised when President Trump dramatically changed his tune a few days later, saying in his opening remarks at the White House working with Mr. Zelensky that the United States “needed” Tomahawks. Mr. Trump then went on to tell Mr. Zelensky behind closed doors that the United States would not provide them.

President Trump's decision came a day after he had a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin leader said that although Tomahawks could attack major Russian cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg, it would not have a significant impact on the battlefield and would even damage US-Russia relations.

The White House and the Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment.

While the Pentagon is not concerned about the stockpile, US defense officials are still grappling with how Ukraine will train and deploy the missiles. There are still a number of operational issues that need to be resolved for Ukraine to be able to use the missiles effectively, the sources added.

One outstanding question is how Ukraine would fire the missiles if the US provided them. Tomahawks are typically launched from surface ships or submarines, but Ukraine’s navy is severely depleted.,So the missiles may need to be launched from land. The Marines and Army have developed land-based launchers that could be provided to Ukraine.