By Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States is considering Ukraine’s request to obtain long-range Tomahawk missiles for its effort to push back against Russian invaders, Vice President JD Vance said on Sunday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has asked the United States to sell Tomahawks to European nations that would send them to Ukraine. Vance said on “Fox News Sunday” that U.S. President Donald Trump would make the “final determination” on whether to allow the deal.
“We’re certainly looking at a number of requests from the Europeans,” Vance said.
Tomahawk missiles have a range of 2,500 km (1,550 miles), putting Moscow in the range of Ukraine’s arsenal were Kyiv to be granted them. Russia would almost certainly view such a move as an escalation in its war in Ukraine.
Trump has denied Ukraine’s requests for use of long-range missiles in the past but has grown frustrated at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to reach a peace deal.
Keith Kellogg, the U.S.’s special envoy to Ukraine, said Trump has indicated that Kyiv should now be able to conduct long-range strikes on Russia.
“I think reading what he (Trump) has said, and reading what Vice President Vance has said…the answer is yes. Use the ability to hit deep. There are no such things as sanctuaries,” Kellogg said during an interview with Fox News later on Sunday.
(Reporting By Steve Holland, Editing by Franklin Paul and Ros Russell)
