The Pentagon has judged that supplying Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles would not degrade U.S. military readiness, according to reporting attributed to multiple U.S. and European officials.

The assessment, delivered to the White House earlier this month, effectively leaves the political decision with President Donald Trump.

CNN’s reporting, relayed by several outlets, indicates the Joint Staff conveyed its view in early October, shortly before President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Mr Trump in Washington to press Kyiv’s case for additional long-range strike options. The Pentagon has also examined ground-based launch concepts should a transfer proceed, though no authorisation has yet been announced.

Mr Trump has so far voiced reservations in public. On 22 October he argued that Tomahawks are “highly complex” and would require months of training—time that Ukraine does not have—adding that the United States should not give away capabilities it might itself need. He has also suggested that U.S. forces would not operate such missiles on Ukraine’s behalf. These remarks followed a period of renewed U.S.–Russia engagement, including the August summit in Alaska.

Moscow has warned that any transfer would constitute a major escalation. President Vladimir Putin said supplying Tomahawks to Ukraine would “destroy” U.S.–Russia relations, and Russian officials have threatened to target the missiles and their launch sites. The Kremlin’s position appears aimed at deterring both the transfer and any basing arrangements in neighbouring states.

The debate comes as Kyiv argues that longer-range conventional strike systems are necessary to hold at risk Russian military-industrial and energy assets located far beyond the current range of Ukrainian ground-launched weapons. Ukraine has framed the request in terms of restoring deterrence and imposing costs on Russia’s war-fighting capacity. Analysts note that sea-launched Tomahawks were not prohibited by the now-defunct INF Treaty and that a land-based launcher could, in principle, be adapted for export, though integration and training timelines would vary.

For Washington, the question blends military utility, logistics and escalation management. U.S. officials cited by CNN concluded that drawing from existing stocks would not undermine U.S. planning assumptions. Open-source estimates suggest a substantial inventory remains in service across the Navy’s surface fleet and submarines, with newer variants offering improved navigation and target discrimination.