Putin Says Russia Is Prevailing, Warns Against U.S. Arming Ukraine with Tomahawks

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared on Monday that Russian forces are prevailing in what he called a “righteous battle” in Ukraine.

“Our fighters and commanders go on the attack, and the entire country, all of Russia, is waging this righteous battle and working hard,” Putin said in a video published on the Kremlin’s website. “Together we are defending our love for the Motherland and the unity of our historical destiny, we are fighting and we are prevailing.”

The war, now well past its third year, has seen Russia retain control of nearly a fifth of Ukraine’s territory, including Crimea which was occupied in late February 2014 and swathes of the east and south. Despite repeated international calls for peace, Putin framed the campaign as a sacred duty — part defense, part destiny.

Yet, as the Kremlin invokes heritage and sacrifice, Washington debates new choices that could alter the battlefield. Ukraine has requested Tomahawk cruise missiles from the US, weapons with ranges capable of reaching deep into Russian territory. U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance confirmed that the request is under consideration, though President Donald Trump has not yet made a final decision.

For Moscow, the prospect recalls not only a material escalation but a symbolic one. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov asked pointedly: “Who is determining the targeting of these missiles? The American side or the Ukrainians themselves?” Former President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia warned Europe of the nuclear danger inherent in such a path.

The Kremlin has insisted that Tomahawks will not change the war’s trajectory, calling them no “panacea” for Kyiv. Still, officials have warned that U.S. involvement in enabling such strikes could make American personnel targets. “And no one will protect them. Not Trump, not Kellogg, nor anyone else,” said Andrei Kartapolov, head of Russia’s defense committee.

For now, the battlefield holds steady: Russia digs in across vast occupied territories, Ukraine seeks leverage in long-range strike capacity, and the United States must decide whether to reach for the bow hidden in the Jammi tree like the celestial weapons of Pandavas kept hidden in Mahabharata.