US and Ukraine continue to discuss Tomahawk deliveries, - Stefanishyna
Ukraine is conducting positive negotiations with the United States on the purchase of Tomahawk cruise missiles and other long-range weapons.
According to Censor.NET, citing Bloomberg, this was stated by Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Olha Stefanishyna on the Balance of Power television programme.
It is noted that this statement came after US President Donald Trump's announcement that he was not considering the possibility of sending Tomahawks to Ukraine.
"The discussion is still ongoing but we have a lot of delegations working to scale up the available financial resources to procure more military capabilities from the US."
"It is not only Tomahawks but different types of other long-range and short-range missiles and I can only say that it’s rather positive," Stefanishyna emphasised.
Ukraine needs more air defence systems amid new attacks by Russia
She stated that Russia's massive strikes on the energy system have created an extremely difficult period for Ukraine. Kyiv is working to obtain additional air defence systems and is calling on its partners to increase pressure on Russia.
"Any refusal to put pressure on Russia will be seen something that gives them the green light to scale up their capabilities," Stefanishyna stressed.
Negotiations between Ukraine and the United States on the transfer of Tomahawk
On 6 October, Trump stated that he had made a decision to supply Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine to a certain extent, while emphasising that he did not want escalation and wanted to know the specific targets for their use and flight routes before making a final decision.
Earlier, US Vice President J.D. Vance confirmed that Washington was discussing the possibility of supplying Tomahawks, but that the final decision lies with Trump. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that during a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the presidents of Ukraine and the US touched on the issue of lifting the taboo on arms supplies.
On 8 October, Zelenskyy told journalists that during their meeting at the White House on 18 August, Trump did not refuse the request for Tomahawks. On 10 October, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that if these missiles were supplied, Moscow would respond by strengthening its air defence system.
On 13 October, Trump announced that the US could send Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine if Putin refused to settle the conflict. On 16 October, the US and Russian presidents held a telephone conversation during which, according to Trump, Putin did not like the idea of supplying missiles.
On 17 October, during a meeting in Washington, Zelenskyy confirmed that Trump had not said a definite "no", but had not given a direct "yes" either. On 20 October, Zelenskyy noted that European leaders were considering appealing to Trump to allow Ukraine to use Tomahawk missiles.
On 31 October, it became known that the Pentagon had given the White House the green light to transfer long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine after assessing that this would not have a negative impact on US stocks. The final political decision rests with Trump.
However, in early November, Trump stated that he was not currently considering transferring "Tomahawk" cruise missiles to Ukraine.
