ARCHIVE #026 — “PUTIN WANTS IT ALL”: WHY GRAHAM DEMANDS UKRAINE GET TOMAHWK
”Nothing Europe did in the past stopped Putin. Nothing the U.S. did stopped Putin. How many people believe he wants to take all of Ukraine? He wants it all.”
— Senator Lindsey Graham
In recent days, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has once again sharply criticized the current Western strategy toward Russia and called on the Trump administration to radically change course. His proposal: provide Ukraine with Tomahawk cruise missiles, capable of striking targets up to 2,500 kilometers deep—meaning Russian military infrastructure within Russia itself.
WHAT IS GRAHAM PROPOSING?
Graham believes that all measures taken by the West since 2014—from sanctions to supplying limited-range weapons—have proven strategically insufficient. In his view, the Kremlin continues to build up military power and uses negotiations as a tactical tool to buy time:
”We keep engaging Russia, trying to lure Putin to the negotiating table—and he ignores all our efforts.”
His solution is a qualitative leap in military support for Ukraine:
Transfer of Tomahawk missiles to destroy UAV factories, missile sites, and logistics hubs inside Russia
Tightening secondary sanctions against countries buying Russian oil (primarily China)
Designating Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism due to the abduction of Ukrainian children
Seizing tankers carrying sanctioned oil, similar to Venezuela
For Graham, this is not just a military measure—it’s a shift in the balance of power and a demonstration that the cost of aggression can become unacceptable even for the Kremlin.
CONTEXT: NOT THE FIRST TIME, BUT NOW UNDER TRUMP
While Graham’s statements sound particularly loud now, they are not new. As early as December 2025, he said that if Putin rejects a peace deal, the U.S. should “go all in.” However, today’s context is fundamentally different:
The Trump administration, previously skeptical of supplying long-range weapons, is under pressure from both Congress and allies
Ukraine is exhausting its ability to strike back at Russia’s rear with existing means (Storm Shadow, ATACMS, and its own drones)
Russia has intensified massive missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, raising the stakes
Additionally, Graham openly links military support to economic interests: he claims the U.S. could benefit from access to Ukrainian resources—from rare earth metals to agricultural land. For him, the war is not just about security but also a geo-economic opportunity.
REACTION: KYIV HOPEFUL, MOSCOW THREATENS
In Kyiv, such statements are seen as pressure on Washington to lift restrictions on strikes deep into Russia. Ukrainian officials have long asked allies to allow targeting sites from which missiles and drones are launched. Tomahawk is the perfect tool for this.
Moscow, for its part, has repeatedly warned that supplying such systems would be a “qualitatively new stage of escalation”. Russian propaganda immediately uses any such initiatives to justify its own “de-escalation” rhetoric and potential countermeasures—up to expanding the conflict zone.
CONCLUSION: BRINKMANSHIP OR NECESSITY?
Graham is neither an isolationist nor a pacifist. He is a politician who thinks in terms of hard power and strategic dominance. His calls are an attempt to break the “deterrence without escalation” paradigm that has dominated Western policy since 2022.
The question is not whether Ukraine can be given Tomahawks—the Pentagon is technically ready. The question is whether the West is ready to accept the risk that such strikes will provoke not just rhetorical reactions but real war expansion.
”He won’t stop until someone stops him.”
— Lindsey Graham
And if the past is any indication, half-measures have indeed been exhausted.
SOURCES
[1] Reuters: “Graham Calls for Giving Ukraine Tomahawk Missiles to Strike Deep into Russia”
[2] BBC: “Ukraine War: Why Lindsey Graham Wants to Escalate US Military Aid”
[3] The Guardian: “’Putin Wants It All’: Graham Urges Trump to Send Tomahawks to Ukraine”
[4] U.S. Department of Defense: “Pentagon Assesses Impact of Tomahawk Supply to Ukraine”
[5] Pravda Ukraine: “Kyiv Welcomes Graham’s Proposal on Tomahawks as ‘Game-Changer’ in War”
—
ARCHIVE: The Control Stack
Analysis without illusions.