Published On 18/10/2025
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Last update: 13:47 (Mecca time)
Washington- A few days ago, US President Donald Trump seemed open about the possibility of selling long-range missiles to Ukraine, including Tomahawk missiles, and expressed his disappointment at the continuation of the Russian war on Ukraine.
But after his call with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, last Thursday, Trump seemed more cautious and retreated from his first position, and expressed his concern about the exhaustion of the American stockpile of these missiles.
After his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, yesterday, Friday, Trump said in a tweet on the Truth Social platform, “Both Russia and Ukraine must declare victory and leave judgment to history!”
Speaking to reporters after the White House meeting, Zelensky acknowledged that he probably wouldn’t get the Tomahawk missiles in the end, adding, “I’m a realist.”
Participation in war
A former military expert spoke to Al Jazeera Net about the difficulty of granting these advanced American missiles to Ukraine, because that would simply be tantamount to “an American declaration of war on Russia.”
The expert, who refused to reveal his identity, explained, “Obtaining Tomahawk missiles is one thing, and using them is another thing. They are highly advanced missiles, and to hit their targets and determine the locations of these targets and their digital coordinates, they rely on a complex and advanced electronic system integrated into the Global Positioning System linked to satellites (GPS).”
He added, “These missiles cannot be used without the technical and human role and capabilities of American military intelligence, and Ukraine cannot use them without American support, and it may need about a full year for technical and human preparation, in addition to connecting them to its military reconnaissance systems.”
Ukraine does not have the technical capabilities to manage and implement precise targeting operations with Tomahawk missiles, which raises questions about the amount of guidance and intelligence sharing that the Pentagon (the US Department of War) would be willing to support Ukraine with to make the launch of Tomahawk missiles successful if Kiev was able to obtain them.
A few days ago, American officials told the Financial Times that the Pentagon provided full support at every stage of planning for Ukraine’s previous long-range strikes on Russian oil refineries with unmanned aerial vehicles, including planning the path, altitude, timing, and mission details.
As such, the Pentagon can be expected to provide the information necessary to launch Tomahawk attacks that require more complex data than that used by drones due to the Tomahawk’s navigation methods.
For the purpose of pressure
To push Russia to the negotiating table, Trump threatened to send Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine in an attempt to convince President Putin to end the war.
Reports indicate that Tomahawk missiles can significantly support Ukraine’s offensive capabilities, enabling it to strike targets deep within Russian territory, including military bases, logistical centers, airports, and command centers that are currently inaccessible by drones.
Russia has expressed its deep concern about the possibility of the United States supplying Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, and Putin has previously indicated that such a step would seriously harm relations between Moscow and Washington.
At the same time, providing Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine is a blow to the calculations of Trump, who reiterates his desire to stop the war and establish a good relationship with Russia, and Putin made it clear that he would consider any such step as a major escalation in the direction opposite to Trump’s ambitions.
Some observers believe that Russia may be prepared to explicitly attack NATO countries if they are targeted by advanced, long-range Western missiles.
After Trump’s efforts to negotiate a peace deal ending the war with Putin failed following the Alaska summit last August, Trump repeatedly encouraged Putin to end the war but achieved little success. As a result, their relations became tense, and then they agreed to meet soon in Hungary for a new summit.
The missile and its capabilities
The Tomahawk is a long-range cruise missile that is usually launched from the sea to attack targets in deep strike missions, but it can also be launched from vehicles over land.
These missiles were used for the first time in 1991 during the Second Gulf War to liberate Kuwait, and Rentheon, the company that manufactured it, developed the missile’s capabilities over the past 30 years.
According to the company, modern versions of the Tomahawk can switch targets in flight, loiter for hours when needed, and change course instantly. Its last use came in 2024, when the US and British Navy launched this type of missile at sites of the Houthi group in Yemen.
seek #Ukraine Striving to possess it… What are the technical and military characteristics of Tomahawk missiles?#Infograph pic.twitter.com/H9iO8tM60t
– Al Jazeera Channel (@AJArabic) October 17, 2025
This precision-guided weapon can hit targets at a distance of 1,600 kilometers, even in areas surrounded by advanced air defense systems. The length of one missile is 6.1 meters, its wingspan reaches 2.5 meters, and it weighs about 1,510 kilograms. The average cost of one missile is $1.3 million, and the United States produces between 50 and 70 missiles annually.
Russia has spent years improving its air defense network against Tomahawk threats, including ground-based SAMs, and building interceptors such as the MIG-31BM to counter Tomahawk threats.