President Donald Trump said he may authorize deliveries of American Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine if Russia refuses to end its war in Eastern Europe.
Speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday night, Trump discussed his recent call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who requested additional military support for Kyiv’s defenses.
Trump said the United States has taken a different approach to arms sales under his administration.
“We sell and deliver weapons to NATO, unlike the Biden administration, which, I said, gave Ukraine $350 billion,” Trump told reporters, according to Fox News. “We gave him nothing, but we gave them respect and some other things.”
The president said he hopes to provide Ukraine with more weapons while ensuring the United States maintains its own defense capabilities.
“They need Patriots very badly. They’d like to have Tomahawks. That’s a step up. We talked about that, so we’ll see,” Trump said.
Before making any decision, Trump said he might first speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I might speak to Russia about that, in all fairness,” Trump said. “Tomahawks are a new step of aggression.”
Trump added that he could tell Putin that continued escalation could trigger U.S. arms transfers.
“If this war is not going to get settled, I’m going to send them Tomahawks,” he said. “The Tomahawk is an incredible weapon, a very offensive weapon, and honestly, Russia does not need that. I may tell him that if the war is not settled, we may very well … we may not, but we may do it. I think it’s appropriate to bring up.”
“I want to see the war settled,” Trump added.
Zelenskyy described his discussion with Trump as “very productive,” writing on X that they covered “defense of life in our country, strengthening our capabilities — in air defense, resilience, and long-range capabilities.”
“President Trump is well informed about everything that is happening,” Zelenskyy wrote. “We agreed to continue our dialogue, and our teams are doing their preparations.”
The call came as Russian forces launched renewed missile and drone attacks across Ukraine, targeting Kyiv’s power grid ahead of winter, according to Fox News.