US President Donald Trump has said that if Russia does not end the war in Ukraine, the US could transfer long-range Tomahawk missiles to NATO, which would then reach the Ukrainians, writes the news agency Reuters.
On his way to Israel, Trump said that he had discussed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Kiev’s request to supply it with weapons, including long-range missiles.
The Tomahawk can reach targets 2,500 kilometers away, which is enough to carry out strikes deep into Russia and could also attack Moscow. The US does not plan to transfer the Tomahawks directly to Ukraine, instead leaving NATO to act as it sees fit. 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.”
Zelensky has said that Ukraine would use the Tomahawk only for military purposes
and has no intention of attacking Russian civilians. The Ukrainian president told Fox News that this is the biggest difference between Ukraine and Russia – Ukrainians do not attack civilians. Zelensky spoke after his conversation with Trump, and added that the discussion about long-range missiles is still ongoing. Trump has said that he wants to know how the Ukrainians will use them before delivering the missiles, because he does not want to escalate the war.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has indicated that it is impossible to use the Tomahawk missiles without the direct involvement of the US military, and therefore their delivery to Ukraine would mean a serious escalation. Zelensky responded by saying that Russia’s concerns indicate that pressure should be continued: “We see and hear that Russia is afraid that the Americans may give us Tomahawks — that this kind of pressure may work for peace.”
The war in Ukraine is the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II, and Russia has repeatedly said it is at war with the West. Putin believes that Western powers are humiliating Russia after the collapse of the USSR by expanding NATO and “meddling” in the politics of countries Moscow considers its sphere of influence, including Ukraine and Georgia.
Read also: Russian soldiers spotted near Estonian border; ministers says no reason to panic
The post US may approve Tomahawk delivery to Ukraine appeared first on Baltic News Network.
