Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on October 7, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleRussia awaits US decision on supplying Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, highlighting potential nuclear escalation risks.
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia said on Tuesday it was waiting for clarity from the United States about the possible supply of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, saying such weapons could theoretically carry nuclear warheads.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he would want to know what Ukraine planned to do with Tomahawks before agreeing to provide them because he did not want to escalate the war between Russia and Ukraine. He said, however, that he had "sort of made a decision" on the matter.
Asked about the comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "We understand that we need to wait, probably, for clearer statements, if any come."
Peskov said that under Trump's predecessor Joe Biden, U.S. practice had been to announce supplies of new weapons only once they had been delivered to Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in comments published on Sunday that if Washington supplied Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine for long-range strikes deep into Russia, it would lead to the destruction of Moscow's relationship with the U.S.
Peskov said it was important to realise that "if we abstract from various nuances, we're talking about missiles that could also be nuclear-capable. Therefore, this is truly a serious round of escalation."
Tomahawk missiles have a range of 2,500 km (1,550 miles), so Ukraine would be able to use them to strike targets anywhere in European Russia, including Moscow, if Trump gave the go-ahead to supply them.
(Reporting by Reuters, Writing by Felix Light and Mark Trevelyan; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
A Tomahawk missile is a long-range, all-weather, subsonic cruise missile used primarily by the United States Navy. It can be launched from ships and submarines and is capable of carrying nuclear or conventional warheads.
Nuclear escalation refers to the increase in the intensity or scale of a conflict involving nuclear weapons. It can occur through the deployment of nuclear weapons or the threat of their use, potentially leading to catastrophic consequences.
A military supply chain refers to the system of processes and logistics involved in providing military forces with the necessary equipment, weapons, and supplies to conduct operations effectively.
Long-range missiles are significant because they allow military forces to strike targets at great distances, potentially impacting strategic military operations and altering the balance of power in conflicts.
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