The Pentagon has given the green light to supply Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles, informing the White House that such a transfer would not negatively impact US stockpiles, CNN reports citing three American and European officials.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff communicated their assessment to the White House in early October, just before Donald Trump's meeting in Washington with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had been pushing for the missiles.
However, during that meeting, Trump told Zelenskyy he would prefer not to provide the missiles because "we don't want to give away what we need to defend our country," according to the report.
The Pentagon's assessment encouraged US European allies, who believe there are now fewer reasons not to provide the missiles, two European officials said. Days before meeting Zelensky, Trump had also stated that the US has "many Tomahawks" that could potentially be supplied to Ukraine.
American and European officials were therefore surprised when Trump abruptly reversed his position just days later, declaring during opening remarks at a working lunch with Zelensky that the US needs the Tomahawks. Behind closed doors, he then told Zelensky that the US would not provide the missiles "at least for now."
Trump's decision came the day after a phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who told the US president that Tomahawks could strike major Russian cities including Moscow and St. Petersburg, and that this would not significantly affect combat operations but would damage US-Russia relations.
CNN sources previously reported that Trump has not abandoned the idea of supplying the missiles, and the administration has prepared plans for their rapid delivery to Ukraine if Trump gives the order.
While the Pentagon has no concerns about stockpiles, the US military is still working out how Ukraine would be trained to use and deploy the missiles, the sources said. Several operational issues still need to be resolved for Ukraine to use the missiles effectively.
One unresolved question is how Ukraine would launch the missiles if the US provides them. Tomahawks are typically launched from ships or submarines, but Ukraine's Navy is severely depleted, meaning the missiles would likely need to be launched from land. The US Marine Corps and Army have developed ground-based launchers that could be provided to Ukraine.
Even if the US chooses not to provide the launchers, European officials believe Ukraine could find a way.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte previously stated that providing Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles remains "under consideration" by Trump.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that during the meeting, Trump did not say "no" regarding the possibility of supplying long-range Tomahawk missiles, but he also did not say "yes."
