Fox News on 28 September aired an interview with US Vice President JD Vance, who confirmed that the White House is actively engaged in discussions on the potential sale of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. His remarks came after the program broadcast a clip of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressing confidence that US President Donald Trump and the United States would support Ukraine “to the end of the war.”

According to The Telegraph sources, Zelenskyy raised the Tomahawk issue personally with Trump during a recent meeting at the UN General Assembly days ago.

The US currently sells arms for Ukraine to NATO allies under the PURL program.

Zelenskyy requested Tomahawks, Trump said “we’ll work on it”

During the interview, anchor Martha MacCallum referenced Zelenskyy’s recent request that the United States supply Ukraine with Tomahawk cruise missiles through European intermediaries. She noted that these missiles can travel up to 1,000 miles and would put Moscow within guided range. She also pointed out that previous Ukrainian requests for these missiles had been rejected by Washington.

MacCallum asked Vance whether he supported the idea, now that Trump had reportedly responded to Zelenskyy’s request by saying, “We’ll work on it.”

Vance dodged the question, replying:

“Right now, as the President said, […] we’re looking at it.” He added that the administration was “certainly looking at a number of requests from the Europeans.”

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Vance further emphasized that one of the key shifts under Trump’s policy is moving away from providing military aid as donations. Instead, the US now encourages European countries to buy weapons directly:

“We’re no longer just giving tons of money and weapons. What we’re doing is asking the Europeans to buy that weaponry.”

He argued that this approach brings “European skin in the game” and makes them more invested both in “what’s happening in their own backyard” and in the peace process Trump has been promoting for the last eight months.

Vance also commented on Russia’s losses in the war, saying the Russians are “not gaining a lot,” and called the war “terrible for their economy.” He added,

“They have to ask themselves, how many more people are they willing to lose, and how many more people are they willing to kill for very little military advantage?”

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Final decision on missiles rests with Trump

When asked whether he was personally comfortable with Ukraine receiving Tomahawk missiles and “the threat that that would pose,” Vance started sidestepping the question, again switching to Europeans and allegedly bearing more costs than the EU:

“I wanted the Europeans to step up in a big way. I wanted us, the United States, to stop shoveling money and weaponry to a conflict that was so far away when I felt like the Europeans […] were not actually taking their fair share of the burden.”

Finally, Vance responded to the question about the missiles, stressing that the final decision would be made by Trump, guided by what serves US interests:

“What the president is going to do is what’s in the best interest of the United States of America. […] That will be the same heuristic that we apply to how we answer this question about Tomahawks.”

He concluded:

“I know that we’re having conversations this very minute about that issue.”

What are Tomahawk missiles

The BGM-109 Tomahawk is a US-made, long-range, subsonic cruise missile with an operational range between 460 km and 2,500 km, depending on the variant. It is typically launched from ships and submarines and is used by the US, the UK, and Australia. While primarily designed for naval deployment, ground-launched variants also exist.