Trump’s comments represented the latest wild swing in his relations with Putin, after he recently expressed growing frustration with the Kremlin leader over his refusal to reach a peace deal.
New level of escalation
There was no immediate reaction from the Kremlin – or from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is due to meet Trump on Friday to push him to increase pressure on Putin.
During Zelenskyy’s meeting with Trump at the White House “the main topic of discussion is Tomahawks,” a senior Ukrainian official told AFP.
Trump is considering a request from Ukraine for American-made Tomahawk cruise missiles, which have a range of around 1600km and could strike deep into Russia.
Trump had warned at the weekend that he would likely raise the issue first with Putin, who has warned that the supply of Tomahawks would be a “whole new level of escalation”.
“I might talk to him, I might say, ‘Look, if this war is not going to get settled, I’m going to send them Tomahawks.’ I may say that,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to the Middle East.
“The Tomahawk is an incredible weapon, very offensive weapon, and honestly, Russia does not need that.”
Trump added on Wednesday that the Ukrainians “want to go offensive” and that they would discuss Kyiv’s request for the cruise missiles.
Tomahawks capabilities
The US leader has also said he wants to up pressure on Moscow following the ceasefire agreement he brokered in Gaza between Israel and Hamas last week.
Relations between Trump and Zelenskyy have meanwhile warmed since February, when they sparred during a now infamous televised meeting at the White House in which the US leader told his Ukrainian counterpart: “You don’t have the cards.”
But it remains to be seen how Zelensky will react to Trump’s latest apparent rapprochement with Putin.
Tomahawks would be a major addition to Ukraine’s arsenal, consolidating Kyiv’s long-range strike abilities with a missile that can fly just above the ground at near supersonic speed to avoid radar.
The United States has used Tomahawks for more than 40 years and in some of the country’s most high-profile conflicts, from the 1991 Gulf War to this year’s US strikes on Iran’s nuclear programme.
Senior Ukrainian officials visiting Washington this week met with representatives of US weapon manufacturers, including Raytheon, which produces Tomahawk missiles.
With the war now in its fourth year, Russia launched fresh attacks on energy facilities in eastern Ukraine, repeating the pattern of focusing on Kyiv’s power network that it has followed every winter.
Energy has been a core factor throughout the war, with Trump saying on Wednesday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised him New Delhi would stop buying Russian oil.
-Agence France-Presse
