Trump says US troops ‘could be’ on ground in Nigeria, rules out Tomahawks for Ukraine

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One shortly after taking off from Busan, South Korea, Oct. 30, 2025. (Photo/AP)

President Donald Trump has said that the US military could deploy troops to Nigeria or carry out air strikes to stop what he claimed was the killing of large numbers of Christians in the West African country.

Asked if he envisioned troops on the ground or air strikes in Nigeria, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday: "Could be. I mean, other things. I envisage a lot of things. They're killing record numbers of Christians in Nigeria ... They're killing the Christians and killing them in very large numbers.”

“We're not going to allow that to happen," he added.

Trump made the comment on Sunday evening as he headed back to Washington after a weekend at his vacation home in Florida.

Trump threatened on Saturday to take military action against Nigeria if Africa's most populous country failed to crack down on the killing of Christians.

The US president's threat of military action came a day after his administration added Nigeria back to a "Countries of Particular Concern" list of nations that the US says have violated religious freedoms.

Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine

Meanwhile, he also said that he was not really considering giving Ukraine long-range Tomahawk missiles.

Asked by a reporter aboard Air Force One if he was not considering providing the weapons to Ukraine, Trump responded: "No, not really."

The Tomahawk system has a range of approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) and is typically launched from ships or submarines.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin had told his US counterpart Donald Trump that any potential deliveries of long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine would harm relations between Moscow and Washington.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, on the other hand, said on Saturday that sending weapons to Kiev will not help achieve any settlement.

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Source: TRT