The Ukrainians are asking the United States for Tomahawk missiles to strike deep into Russia, beyond the range of their own drones and missile systems. With a range of up to 2,500 kilometers and high accuracy, the Tomahawks could hit military bases, drone factories and fuel infrastructure, putting pressure on the Kremlin to reconsider continuing the war.

The Tomahawk is the key tool in the US missile arsenal. It has been used in strikes in Syria and Libya and was used extensively against former dictator Saddam Hussein in Iraq in both the 1990s and 2003.

About 30 of these cruise missiles were used as part of the US strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities in June.

Although not a new weapon, the Tomahawk missile remains effective and relatively cheapas it costs about $2 million per missile. Depending on the version, it can hit targets at a distance of 1,600–2,500 km.

However, it does not have a longer range than some of the longer-range Ukrainian drones, but the Tomahawk would have much more explosive power. It has advanced guidance technologies and moves at high subsonic speed (about 550 mph).

It operates at very low altitude, following the terrain, making detection and interception more difficult.

For all these reasons, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has pressed the Trump administration to deliver Tomahawks that would allow Ukraine to strike targets deep inside Russia. For now, at least, it is not going to receive the missiles in question. Trump made it clear last week that the US has few available, noting that “we need Tomahawks for the United States of America as well. We have many, but we need them.”

As in this war of attrition, in which F-16 fighters, Abrams tanks and even Patriot systems granted to Ukraine have been usedno single system fundamentally changes the correlations. Hundreds of Tomahawks were needed to knock out Russia’s refineries and air bases.

Still, a few dozen could allow Ukrainian forces to inflict significant damage on critical Russian infrastructure far from the border, including the Shahed drone manufacturing plant in Tatarstan and the Engels-2 air base in the Saratov region, according to the US think tank Institute for the Study of War.

“It is very difficult to operate only with Ukrainian drones. We need long-range Tomahawk,” Zelensky said in an interview with the American network NBC on Sunday.

He has also stated that the Tomahawks would “strengthen Ukraine and force the Russians to come to their senses and sit down at the negotiating table.”

The Kremlin became so concerned about the possibility of Kiev acquiring Tomahawk missiles that it issued stern warnings about escalating the war, given that the missiles can carry nuclear warheads. Russia would consider their supply to Ukraine as “hostile energy” that would threaten global security, according to the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Sergei Naryskin.

Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to forestall that possibility by holding a lengthy phone call with Donald Trump on the eve of Zelensky’s visit to Washington on October 16.

The Tomahawk missile has been extensively tested in combat. In 1991, when the US and its allies sought to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait, 122 Tomahawks were fired against Iraqi defensive positions in the first three days of Operation Desert Storm, the first time they were used.

It has also been used for targeted strikes in the Balkans, Afghanistan in 1998, Yemen, Libya and Syria.

The latest version of the missile was introduced in 2021, with improved electronics and increased range.

However, the Tomahawk is primarily a sea-launched missile. Ukraine would need a ground-based launcher, known as the Typhon, to be able to use it. The Typhon system was developed after the US withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Moscow in 2019, citing multiple Russian violations.

Zelensky has expressed optimism about the Ukrainian cruise missile, known as the Flamingo, which is said to have a similar range to the Tomahawk. However, its true potential remains unclear, and Ukraine lacks the resources to go into mass production.

While the Tomahawks would help Kiev bolster its strikes deep inside Russian territory, Ukraine above all needs more – and more sophisticated – anti-aircraft systems as Russia ramps up its mass attacks with a combination of missiles and drones.

Zelensky met with US manufacturers Lockheed Martin and Raytheon during his last visit to Washington, seeking a major deal worth about $90 billion in weapons systems purchases.