FIRST ON FOX: As intense fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops persists on the eastern frontline across the Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions, a senior Ukrainian commander involved in these clashes has appealed to the Trump administration for Tomahawk missiles.
Maj. Oleh Shyriaiev, commander of the 225th Battalion in northern Ukraine, is holding his ground and hoping for greater U.S. support. “The primary requirement for us is long-range missiles,” Shyriaiev exclusively disclosed to Digital from an undisclosed location on Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region front lines.
“This conflict is the most significant global war since World War II,” Major Shyriaiev asserted. He emphasized that Ukraine’s struggle is not solely about freeing itself from Russian aggression.
Moscow has aimed to maintain Ukraine within its sphere of influence ever since Ukraine gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By fending off Russian advances, Ukraine seeks to realize its 30-year ambition of achieving complete independence from Moscow’s grasp.
“For the past 300 years, our confrontation, specifically between Ukraine and Russia, has offered us a chance to secure independence. And I am confident that we will prevail in this war,” Shyriaiev stated.
U.S. long-range Tomahawk missiles would offer Ukrainian forces a valuable option to push back Russian advances and secure a stronger negotiating position for ending the war.
“Bolstering Kyiv’s long-range strike capabilities can help the Ukrainians impose greater costs on Moscow and undermine Russian offensive operations. Ultimately, this will provide Ukraine and the United States greater leverage to achieve peace,” John Hardie, deputy director of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies Russia Program, informed Digital.
Trump had, at one point, hinted at the possibility of sending long-range missiles to Ukraine.
“If this war doesn’t get settled, I may send Tomahawks,” Trump remarked in October when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the White House.
However, reversing this sentiment, the president later told reporters aboard Air Force One on November 2nd that the U.S. would not be sending Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine for the time being.
Tomahawks boast a range of approximately 1,550 miles, sufficient to strike Russian territory. These long-range, subsonic cruise missiles are designed to penetrate deep inside enemy territory and are launched from U.S. Navy surface ships and U.S. Navy submarines. Ukraine, due to its wartime needs and lack of a navy, would require ground-based launchers.
Over more than three years of war, the U.S. during the Biden administration feared that such a move would be perceived by Putin as an escalatory step. The Russian president even cautioned President Trump in a recent phone call against providing such weapons.
Even if the U.S. does not supply Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles, Major Shyriaiev remains resolute in the Ukrainian army’s capacity to repel the Russians.
“I am confident that our armed forces will continue to defend Ukraine’s sovereignty regardless of the type and number of weapons we receive. While I believe that Ukraine would greatly benefit from the deployment of Tomahawk missiles, given the proven precision capability of these weapons, we acknowledge the complexities at the political level, and we will defend our nation with all the tools at our disposal,” Shyriaiev asserted.
Shyriaiev is stationed in Sumy, a strategically important oblast bordering Russia, which has been a focal point of conflict this fall.
While Russia continues to make consistent but slow progress on the battlefield, Ukraine has successfully stalled Russian advances in Sumy. Reclaiming territory held by Russia in Sumy will strengthen Ukraine’s position in any negotiation to end the war, a key objective for President Trump.
Shyriaiev characterized Russia’s tactics across the front lines as “meat assaults,” deploying enough manpower to overwhelm Ukraine’s significantly smaller forces, likening it to a “meat grinder” method, which is achieving some successes.
Even if Russia succeeds in capturing Pokrovsk, the major stressed that Russia will suffer considerable losses in the process.
“Every larger town or smaller city will entail a serious battle to take, and the Russians will be losing a large number of personnel here in Pokrovsk. Therefore, Pokrovsk is one of those places where they will lose many troops, and their combat capability will be severely impacted by that,” Shyriaiev explained.