US President Donald Trump said on Friday that it would be premature to give long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine as it could escalate the situation with Russia. He also suggested that America also needed the missiles, as he hoped to resolve the war between Russia and Ukraine without the Tomahawk. Volodymyr Zelensky, who met Donald Trump at the White House today, requested weapons that would allow Ukrainian forces to strike deep into Russian territory, targeting key military sites, energy facilities and critical infrastructure. At the start of the White House talks, Zelensky said he had a “proposal” in which Ukraine could supply the United States with its advanced drones, while Washington would sell Kiev long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles. When Zelensky mentioned that Ukraine needed Tomahawks, Trump said: “Tomahawks could mean escalation. Hopefully they won’t need it. Hopefully we’ll be able to get the war over without thinking about Tomahawks.” “I also have an obligation to make sure we’re fully stocked as a country because you never know what’s going to happen in war and peace. We’d much rather they didn’t need Tomahawks. We’d much rather the war be over to be honest.” He continued, “We need Tomahawks, and we need a lot of the other things that we’ve sent to Ukraine over the last four years. One of the reasons we want to get over this war is exactly that — it’s not easy for us to give. You’re talking about massive numbers of very powerful weapons,” indicating that the US will not supply Tomahawks to Ukraine. Trump added that he was confident of getting Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the invasion he launched in 2022, following a phone call with the Kremlin chief a day earlier. The US and Russian presidents agreed to a new summit in the Hungarian capital of Budapest on Thursday, October 16, which would be their first since an August meeting in Alaska that failed to produce any kind of peace agreement. “I think that President Putin wants to end the war,” Trump said. But Zelensky dejectedly said that Putin was “not ready” for peace. On the eve of Zelensky’s visit to Washington, Vladimir Putin warned Trump in a call against the delivery of the Tomahawk missiles, saying it would put significant strain on their relationship. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov quoted Vladimir Putin as saying: “The delivery of Tomahawks will not change the battlefield situation, but will harm US-Russia ties and the peace process.” (With agency input)
Trump reluctant to supply Tomahawk missiles to Zelensky? US Prez says ‘not easy for us to give’ amid Putin warning
