According to a CNN report, three officials from the US and Europe familiar with the matter revealed that the Pentagon has assessed that providing Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles would not weaken the US military's existing stockpile, and has therefore given the green light to the White House, leaving the final political decision to US President Trump. Earlier this month, Trump made it clear during a working lunch with Ukrainian President Zelensky that he was unwilling to provide the missiles, stating that "we cannot give up the weapons stockpile we need to defend our country." The Joint Chiefs of Staff submitted its assessment report to the White House earlier this month, just as Zelensky was continuing to lobby for the acquisition of the missiles—Ukraine hopes to use their approximately 1,600-kilometer range to more effectively strike deep energy facilities within Russia. Two European officials pointed out that this assessment has encouraged European allies, who believe the US now lacks a legitimate reason to refuse to provide the missiles. It is worth noting that just days before meeting with Zelensky, Trump publicly stated that the US "has a large number of Tomahawk missiles that can be provided to Ukraine."