US President Donald Trump has said he might provide Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles to be used against Russia if Vladimir Putin does not end the war.
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he flew to Israel that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed the latter’s request for weaponry, including Tomahawks.
They spoke by phone on Saturday and Sunday.
Tomahawk missiles have a range of 1,550 miles, long enough to strike deep inside Russia, including Moscow.
The Kremlin has warned against any provision of Tomahawks to Ukraine, and Trump on Sunday said they would be "a new step of aggression" if introduced into the war.
The United States would not sell missiles directly to Ukraine, but provide them to NATO, which can then offer them to the Ukrainians, Trump said. "Yeah, I might tell him (Putin), if the war is not settled, we may very well do it,” he said.
"We may not, but we may do it. … Do they want to have Tomahawks going in their direction? I don’t think so."
Mr Zelensky said earlier that Ukraine would only use Tomahawk missiles for military purposes and not attack civilians in Russia, should the US provide them.
"We never attacked their civilians. This is the big difference between Ukraine and Russia," the Ukrainian leader said on the Fox News Sunday Briefing programme.
"That's why, if we speak about long-range (missiles), we speak only about military goals."
Mr Zelensky's comments, which were recorded on Saturday, aired on Sunday after his second talks in as many days with Trump. The Ukrainian leader said they are still discussing the possibility that Washington might provide Kyiv with the long-range missiles.
Trump said last week that before agreeing to provide Tomahawks he wants to know how Ukraine would use them because he does not want to escalate the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Mr Zelensky said he was still working on trying to convince Trump to approve a missile deal.
"We count on such decisions, but we'll see," Mr Zelensky said.
