President Donald Trump said Monday he has "sort of" made a decision on whether to supply Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine or NATO allies but signaled caution, stressing he wants more information before proceeding.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said he intends to learn "what they're doing with them" before finalizing any decision, adding that his goal is to avoid escalating the conflict.
Washington is carefully weighing a significant step in military support as Kyiv continues its defense against Russia, but Trump's emphasis on oversight reflects concerns about how advanced U.S. weaponry might be used once transferred.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked the U.S. to sell Tomahawks to European nations that would send them to Ukraine.
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.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a video clip released 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 Washington.
Asked by reporters at the White House whether he had decided on supplying Ukraine with Tomahawks, Trump did not rule it out and said he had "sort of made a decision" on the matter.
"I think I want to find out what they're doing with them," he said. "Where are they sending them? I guess I'd have to ask that question."
"I would ask some questions. I'm not looking to escalate that war," he added.
There was no immediate response from the Kremlin and the Zelenskyy administration to Reuters' request to comment outside business hours.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.