US may send only up to 50 Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine - FT
Photo: US may send only up to 50 Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine (Getty Images)
The United States may transfer only 20 to 50 Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, which are unlikely to change the dynamics of the war, reports the Financial Times, citing Stacie Pettyjohn, director of the defense program at the Center for a New American Security think tank.
Washington may allocate between 20 and 50 Tomahawk missiles, which will not change the dynamics of the war, she said. Although long-range missiles can complement Ukrainian long-range drones and cruise missiles, they will still be very limited in their capabilities, certainly insufficient to ensure sustained, deep attacks against Russia.
A Ukrainian official told the media that US President Donald Trump is closer than ever to supplying missiles, but the White House has made it clear that no decision has been made yet.
Mark Cancian, a former Pentagon official who now works at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, estimated during recent military exercises that the US has a total of 4,150 Tomahawk missiles.
Since 2022, the Pentagon has purchased only about 200 missiles and has already fired more than 120 during exercises. According to defense experts, the Pentagon has requested funding for only 57 additional Tomahawk missiles in its 2026 budget.
Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine
Earlier, Trump stated that the decision to supply Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles had been practically made.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that transferring Tomahawks to Ukraine could lead to a “serious escalation,” since they “can have a nuclear configuration.”
Russian president Vladimir Putin said that Russia plans to strengthen its air defense systems amid US reports about the transfer of long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.
What lies behind this decision and whether the Ukrainian Armed Forces will actually receive American strategic missiles - read in the RBC-Ukraine report.
