We’ll see if Tomahawks can bring Putin to the negotiating table. Final decision rests with Trump, says Whitaker
U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker believes that supplying Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine could alter dictator Putin’s calculations.
Censor.NET reports this, citing Interfax-Ukraine.
"You saw how he (Trump – Ed.) recently shared his views on Ukraine’s needs, specifically mentioning the Tomahawks. And President Trump certainly has the final say on the matter. As I’ve said publicly before, the ability to conduct deep strikes could change Putin’s calculations and threaten many things, including major energy infrastructure inside Russia," the diplomat explained.
Whitaker emphasized that "the war and the killings must stop, and it takes both sides to sit down and reach a deal."
"At the moment, the Russians don’t seem ready to abandon their maximalist goals, but we’ll see whether measures such as shutting down the shadow fleet, Tomahawks, and other tools can bring Vladimir Putin and the Russians to the negotiating table to reach a peace agreement," he added.
Earlier, Axios reported that on 17 October, U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would discuss the supply of Tomahawk missiles.
Trump said he had "to some extent" made a decision regarding sending Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.
The Kremlin considers Trump’s decision to supply Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles another act of escalation.
Earlier, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing two sources, that US President Donald Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that he was ready to lift restrictions on Ukraine's use of long-range US weapons to strike Russia.
US Vice President J.D. Vance said in an interview with Fox News that the administration of US President Donald Trump is discussing the potential provision of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.
Kellogg also said that the White House and the US president himself do not object to Ukraine's attacks on targets located deep in Russia.
