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The US will provide Ukraine with new intelligence to help guide long-range missile and drone strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure, a move that marks an escalation in Washington’s role in the war.
Washington already provides intelligence support to Ukraine, but the new measures could help Kyiv to better map Russian air defences and plot strike routes, bolstering the effectiveness of its existing long-range drones and missiles, said people familiar with the discussions.
Such support would also aid any new long-range weapons that Washington may approve for sale to Nato allies on the basis they would be given to Ukraine.
While no final decision has been made public, President Donald Trump has told agencies to prepare to share intelligence, the people said.
One of the people familiar with White House discussions described “a seismic shift in attitude” inside Trump’s inner circle. But the person cautioned the president remains opposed to using US taxpayer funds to help Ukraine, preferring Nato allies purchase weapons from Washington and then supply them to Kyiv.
The people familiar with the US decision said it came shortly before Trump’s fiery post on his Truth Social network last month in which he expressed his frustration with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and said he believed Kyiv was “in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form”.
Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy also confirmed on Thursday that he had recently discussed Tomahawk cruise missiles with the US president, weapons that have been at the top of Kyiv’s arms wishlist since the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Trump is considering the idea, said the people familiar with the White House discussions.
The step would represent a sharp departure both from long-standing US policy and from Trump’s earlier reluctance to help Ukraine strike Russia on its own territory. Former US president Joe Biden discouraged Kyiv from striking Russian oil refineries in the spring of 2024.
Ukraine’s deep drone strikes against Russian oil refineries have disrupted domestic supplies and pushed Moscow’s diesel exports towards their lowest levels since 2020, the Financial Times reported last month. At least 16 of Russia’s 38 refineries have been hit since the start of August, some of them multiple times.
Tomahawks have a range of up to 2,500km (1,500 miles), which would open up a whole new array of targets inside Russia to Ukraine — and bring Moscow well within range.
But some inside Trump’s circle are not convinced they would make a big difference to the military balance. “I don’t think a limited number of Tomahawks or sporadic deep strikes into Russia will change Putin’s mind,” the US official said.
A White House official said: “This is a war that never would have happened had President Trump been president, something President Putin himself acknowledged, and President Trump is trying to get it stopped. The president also negotiated a historic agreement to allow Nato allies to purchase American-made weapons. We do not have further announcements at this time.”
Ukraine’s presidential administration declined to comment on the intelligence sharing but acknowledged Kyiv and Washington were “still in talks” over Tomahawks.
Zelenskyy said he had “a very good meeting, a very productive dialogue” with Trump recently about further US support, including a request for Tomahawk missiles.
“We will see. Everything will depend on [Trump’s] decision,” he said on the sidelines of the European Political Community Summit in Copenhagen on Thursday. “This is significant.”
Putin said on Thursday that Tomahawks could help Ukraine inflict more damage on Russia but would not affect outcomes on the battlefield. “It doesn’t matter how many drones you have if there isn’t enough personnel willing to fight,” Putin said.
The Russian president said any US supplies of Tomahawks would damage relations with Russia just as they had begun to improve under Trump. “You can’t deploy Tomahawks without the direct involvement of American servicemen. It would mean a qualitatively new stage of escalation,” he said.
Trump has criticised the EU for continuing to buy Russian oil and called on it to stop in exchange for his support for tough new sanctions on Moscow, which would aim to press Putin and bring him to the negotiating table.
Washington is also pushing Nato allies to expand their intelligence assistance to Ukraine. Britain already aids Kyiv with some deep strikes into Russia, said people familiar with the matter.
The Wall Street Journal earlier reported Trump has approved intelligence sharing with Kyiv to aid in Ukraine’s long-range strikes in Russia. Keith Kellogg, a retired lieutenant general who is Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, last weekend said the president had authorised Ukraine to conduct long-range strikes with the US-made weapons provided to it.
“This is where I think [the Ukrainians] have the opportunity to challenge Russia much more aggressively,” he said.
“There are no such things as sanctuaries,” he added.
The US has provided Ukraine with Himars and Atacms missiles that are capable of striking inside Russia. The weapons were approved and delivered to Kyiv under Biden.
But Ukraine’s stocks of each are severely limited and the use of the weapons is infrequent at best. Kyiv has struck military targets with them across the border inside Russia’s western regions and in occupied Crimea.
Additional reporting by Henry Foy in Copenhagen and Max Seddon in Berlin
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