U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 6th that he is “sort of almost decided” about selling Tomahawk long-range missiles to Ukraine.
The Tomahawk missile has a maximum range of 2,500 km depending on the type, capable of striking military targets and major cities deep inside Russia. Ukraine has continuously requested the U.S. to sell these long-range missiles, arguing that merely possessing Tomahawks would pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to the negotiation table.
President Trump, however, stated before supplying the missiles, “I will ask some questions, such as where they will fire these missiles. I do not want an escalation.”
In recent weeks, Trump administration officials have expressed concerns over whether the U.S. can control the operation of Tomahawk missiles once NATO countries purchase them from the U.S. and provide them to Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on the 5th that supplying Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine would be “a qualitatively new stage of escalation.” He stated that Ukraine cannot operate the missiles without direct involvement of U.S. military personnel, and providing Tomahawks would lead to a direct confrontation between the U.S. and Russia, destroying the positive development of bilateral relations.
