WASHINGTON DC – The United States is actively considering a request to facilitate the transfer of long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine, a move that would represent a significant escalation in Western military aid and comes as Russia unleashed a deadly, massive air assault on Kyiv and other cities.
Vice President JD Vance confirmed on Sunday that the administration is reviewing the request, which originated from President Volodymyr Zelensky during a recent meeting with President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
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The potential delivery of the potent weapon system – which has a formidable range of up to 2,500 km (1,550 miles) – is being seen as a direct response to what the White House calls Russian President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to engage seriously in peace talks.
“We’re certainly looking at a number of requests from the Europeans,” Vance said on “Fox News Sunday,” while emphasizing that the “final determination” on the Tomahawk deal would be made by President Trump.
The request from Zelensky is for the US to sell the missiles to European allies, who would then transfer them to Kyiv.
The long-range capability of the Tomahawk would provide Ukraine with the ability to strike targets deep inside Russian territory, a factor that has previously led Trump to deny similar requests for long-range munitions.
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Frustration in the White House
Vance’s comments highlight a clear shift in Washington’s tone, driven by growing frustration with Russia’s war efforts and its resistance to diplomacy.
“We’ve been actively pursuing peace from the very beginning of the administration,” Vance stated. “But the Russians have got to wake up and accept reality here. A lot of people are dying. They don’t have a lot to show for it.”
Vance posited that the Russian invasion has stalled on the battlefield, making little recent territorial gains, and criticized Moscow for rejecting invitations to bilateral or trilateral negotiations with the US and Ukraine.
Deadly air assault
The high-stakes debate over advanced weaponry comes as Ukrainian cities are recovering from one of the most intense aerial bombardments in recent months.Kyiv endured a 12-hour Russian air attack overnight that utilized hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles.
Ukrainian officials confirmed the strikes killed at least four people, including a 12-year-old girl, and injured dozens more. Residential buildings, civilian infrastructure, and even a cardiology institute were hit in the capital.
Zelensky condemned the “vile and brutal” attack, stating it proved Russia’s intent to continue the fight. The strikes also hit the regions of Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskyi, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, and Odesa.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper expressed her condemnation on X, stating she was “appalled by Russia’s attack on Ukraine overnight” and affirming that the UK “will always stand with Ukraine.”
Congressman urges green light for long-range strikes
Adding pressure for a stronger US response, Republican Congressman Mike Turner, who recently returned from Kyiv, urged the White House to lift all restrictions on Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons to strike inside Russia.
Speaking on CBS’ Face the Nation, Turner stressed the necessity of the policy change to enable Ukraine to win the war and reclaim its territory.“He really needs to do so,” Turner said, referring to the US President changing the policy.
“Ukraine needs to have the ability to use long-range weapons to push Russia back.4 And when they’re able to do that, they will get their territory back. If they are able to do that, they will win this war,” he added.
Turner also criticized the West for “funding both sides” of the conflict, noting that while the US provides aid to Kyiv, Western countries – including the EU – continue to subsidize Russia’s “production machine” by purchasing Russian energy via intermediaries like China and India.
He also called for an immediate vote on the bipartisan Sanctioning Russia Act to “stop subsidizing Russia’s economy and their ability for production and killing Ukrainians.” He argued that tougher sanctions were the only way to achieve peace aligned with Trump’s vision.
Turner, who has observed the conflict firsthand, praised Ukraine’s defensive ingenuity: “What I saw in Ukraine, which is what’s really incredible, is that they are winning modern warfare… with their anti-drone technology that no one else has… They are winning this war.”
The intensifying calls for both offensive long-range missiles and crippling economic sanctions put Trump at a critical juncture in determining the future of US policy toward the nearly three-year-old conflict.
