The president has said the country needs the cruise missiles for its own defense
The US must have enough Tomahawk cruise missiles in its own arsenal before it can potentially deliver some to Ukraine, President Donald Trump said on Thursday.
The missiles, which have a range of up to 2,500km (1,554 miles), are the latest weapons to be requested by Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky. Trump previously signaled that he was considering approving the request, citing a lack of progress in peace talks with Russia, but has so far declined to give a definitive answer.
“We need Tomahawks for the United States of America too. We have a lot of them, but we need them. I mean, we can’t deplete [our own arsenal],” Trump told reporters at the Oval Office, hours after holding a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump confirmed that he had discussed the issue with Putin and said that the Russian leader “didn’t like the idea” of Ukraine acquiring Tomahawks. Putin’s close aide Yury Ushakov told reporters after the call that potential shipments would undermine the chance of achieving peace between Russia and Ukraine and would severely damage Russia’s ties with the US.
Zelensky is expected to again push Trump for additional military aid during a meeting at the White House on Friday. Trump earlier reached a deal with NATO that the bloc would pay for American weapons designated for Ukraine.
Russia has repeatedly stated that no amount of foreign aid would stop it from achieving its aims, but would make the risk of wider conflict more likely.
