Post by : Rameen Ariff

US President Donald Trump has said he may approve the transfer of long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine if Russian President Vladimir Putin fails to end the ongoing war.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to Israel, Trump revealed that he had two conversations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the weekend. According to Trump, the talks focused on Ukraine’s request for advanced weaponry, including Tomahawk cruise missiles capable of striking targets up to 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) away — enough to reach deep into Russian territory.

Trump clarified that the United States would not directly sell the missiles to Ukraine. Instead, they would be supplied through NATO, which could then offer them to Kyiv. “Yeah, I might tell him (Putin), if the war is not settled, we may very well do it,” Trump said. “We may not, but we may do it. Do they want Tomahawks coming their way? I don’t think so.”

The Kremlin has warned that supplying Tomahawks to Ukraine would mark a “new step of aggression” and could escalate the conflict further. In response, Zelensky assured that any provided missiles would be used only for military targets, not civilian areas inside Russia.

“We never attack civilians. This is the big difference between Ukraine and Russia,” Zelensky stated in an interview with Fox News’ Sunday Briefing. “If we speak about long-range missiles, we speak only about military goals.”

Trump has maintained that before approving such weapons, he wants to understand how Ukraine intends to use them. Zelensky, however, expressed optimism, saying Kyiv continues to work toward convincing the US administration to approve the missile deal.

Meanwhile, Putin has previously argued that using Tomahawk missiles would not be possible without direct participation from US military personnel, calling such a move a “qualitatively new stage of escalation.”

In his Sunday evening address, Zelensky said that Russia’s fear of the US providing Tomahawks could actually help pressure Moscow toward peace. “We see and hear that Russia is afraid the Americans may give us Tomahawks — that this kind of pressure may work for peace,” he said.

The Ukraine-Russia war, now entering its third year, remains Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II. Western nations continue to support Ukraine, viewing Russia’s invasion as an attempt at imperial expansion, while Moscow accuses the West of provoking conflict by expanding NATO and threatening its sphere of influence.

#world news #Global News