U.S. President Donald Trump has dismissed claims that his administration permitted Ukraine to deploy Western-supplied weapons inside Russian territory, labeling the allegations as “FAKE NEWS.” The president asserted on Truth Social that the U.S. had no role in the missiles used by Ukrainian forces, stating, “Wherever they may come from, or what Ukraine does with them, we have nothing to do with it.”
The controversy emerged after reports suggested the Trump administration eased restrictions on Ukraine’s use of long-range munitions provided by Western European nations for strikes within Russia. The policy shift allegedly occurred in early October and coincided with Trump’s proposal to supply Tomahawk cruise missiles, which can travel up to 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles), to Kyiv.
During a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the U.S. president reiterated that providing Tomahawks to Ukraine would be complex and risky. He emphasized that training Ukrainians on the missiles would take “a minimum of six months, usually a year,” and warned against direct American involvement in their use. “The only way a Tomahawk is going to be shot is if we shot it, and we are not going to do that,” Trump said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized the potential transfer of Tomahawks, warning it would jeopardize peace efforts and strain U.S.-Russia relations. He argued that deploying such missiles would require “direct participation of American military personnel.” Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy claimed Ukraine was seeking assistance from Western nations, including those possessing Tomahawk missiles.
Putin has threatened a “very serious, if not downright staggering” response to any Ukrainian strike using the weapons, escalating tensions in the conflict.