No Tomahawks for Ukraine? Trump reportedly refuses to sell missiles
Donald Trump, President of the United States (photo: Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump may still be refusing to provide Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles. However, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy hopes the issue will be resolved, according to Axios.
Today, September 26, the outlet reported this decision by the US leader, citing an informed source. It is noted that this was the only weapons system on the list that Trump refused to sell to NATO countries on behalf of Ukraine.
Over the past year, Ukraine has raised the issue of Tomahawk missile supplies several times. They were also among the weapons requested by Kyiv a few months ago.
At the same time, it remains unclear whether Trump's decision concerns Ukraine's latest request, as in his conversation with Zelenskyy, he promised to "work on" this issue.
Tomahawk for Ukraine
During a closed meeting with Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked for the provision of long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.
The Ukrainian leader told his American counterpart that these missiles would help force Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to the negotiating table.
"We will work on it," Trump replied to Zelenskyy's request, as the Ukrainian leader said in one of his interviews.
Former US President Joe Biden had previously refused to supply Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. The rockets were part of Zelenskyy's 10-point Victory Plan. At that time, such a step was considered too risky, as the missiles could have reached Moscow, potentially leading to an escalation of the conflict.
What is known about Tomahawk
Tomahawk is an American long-range cruise missile designed to strike land targets from sea and submarine platforms. It flies at a low altitude above the surface, which makes it harder to detect.
The missile is equipped with a turbojet (turbofan) engine, an inertial guidance system with satellite navigation (GPS), and terrain-contour mapping subsystems (TERCOM/DSMAC).
The missile's length is about 5.55–5.84 meters (up to ~6.25 meters with a booster), with a diameter of 0.52 meters. Its launch weight ranges from 1,300 to 1,600 kilograms, and it carries a single unitary warhead weighing approximately 450 kilograms or variants with submunitions.
The range of the Tomahawk depends on the modification—modern Block III/IV versions can fly about 900 nautical miles (~1,600 km).
