This article argues that the Iran war could benefit Russia by draining U.S. weapons stockpiles and reducing the arms available for Ukraine. But American military aid to Kyiv had already slowed significantly and become politically uncertain well before the Iran war began.
Putin Is the Iran War’s One Sure Winner
Marc Champion is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Europe, Russia and the Middle East. He was previously Istanbul bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal.
US naval vessels are firing Tomahawk missiles at Iran as they try to destroy the missile launchers and factories on which Tehran relies for its ability to strike back. The calculation is simple: It’s a lot cheaper, safer and more efficient to destroy warheads on the ground than in the air.
This is the same calculation that prompted Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to start campaigning, months ago, for the US to provide him with Tomahawks. He too wanted to use them against missile launchers and factories — in his case, the Russian ones that are fueling nightly volleys against his country and burning up its dwindling supply of US-made Patriot interceptors to bring them down. But the US rate of fire in the Gulf makes such transfers to Kyiv less likely by the hour.
Note: It is unlikely that the U.S. would send Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine. As of October 18, 2025, Ukraine had sought Tomahawks from Washington, but a meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump ended without any agreement for the U.S. to supply them (Ukraine hoped to obtain Tomahawks but the meeting ended without a deal for the U.S. to supply them).
U.S. military support for Ukraine has also declined significantly since Trump took office, according to the Ukraine Support Tracker: Ukraine Support Tracker: Europe fails to offset US aid drop.
