Pentagon Clears Tomahawks; Trump Hesitant After Talks

The Pentagon assessed that transferring long‑range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine would not harm U.S. stockpiles and has cleared the move, forwarding the recommendation to the White House and leaving the final decision to President Donald Trump. Trump, speaking on Air Force One, said he is not, for now, considering sending Tomahawks but left open the possibility and has discussed the idea with NATO leaders and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky has pushed for the missiles because their roughly 1,600–2,500 km range would allow strikes deep inside Russia and could strengthen Kyiv’s leverage in negotiations. The Kremlin warned such a transfer would be a serious escalation and threatened a strong response, while U.S. officials and experts remain divided over the escalation risks. Trump said he does not want to escalate the war and has suggested that “you have to let it get fought out.”