Zelensky tight-lipped on Tomahawks
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has declined to comment on whether the US will send Tomahawk long-range missiles to Kiev, following a meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington.
Zelensky said he is reluctant to speak on the matter because the US “does not want escalation.”
Zelensky made the remarks on Friday following negotiations in the White House, which involved potential deliveries of the missiles. Tomahawks have a maximum range of 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) and would make Kiev capable of striking Moscow and cities beyond.
He refrained from providing any clues regarding whether a deal was reached. “We spoke about long-range, of course. I don’t want to make statements about it. We decided that we won’t speak about it… because the United States does not want escalation,” he told reporters, following his departure from the White House.
His comments came after Trump acknowledged that Tomahawks are on the agenda, but signaled that “it’s not easy” for Washington to sell the missiles to Ukraine because it needs them to safeguard its own national security. Allowing Kiev to conduct strikes deep into Russia could lead to “an escalation,” Trump cautioned.
Moscow has warned against supplying the missiles to Ukraine, arguing they would “not change the situation on the battlefield” but would “severely undermine the prospects of a peaceful settlement” and harm US-Russia relations.
The Tomahawk issue was one of the key items discussed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump during a phone call on Thursday, which preceded Trump-Zelensky talks. During the conversation, the Russian and US leaders agreed to hold a new summit in Budapest, Hungary.
