“The front line can spark diplomacy. Instead, Russia continues to do everything to weasel out of diplomacy, and as soon as the issue of long-range capabilities for us — for Ukraine — became less immediate, Russia’s interest in diplomacy faded almost automatically,” Zelensky said during his daily video address. “This signals that this very issue — the issue of our deep strike capabilities — may hold the indispensable key to peace.”
“The discussion on Tomahawks turned out to be a major investment in diplomacy – we forced Russia to reveal that Tomahawks are precisely the card they take seriously,” he added.
Zelensky met with Trump in Washington on Friday in what the Ukrainian leader said was a “positive” huddle, even though he failed to secure a commitment from the U.S. to send the powerful munitions, which have a range of about 1,000 miles, depending on the variant.
“It’s not easy for us to give … you’re talking about massive numbers of very powerful weapons,” Trump said Friday, minutes ahead of his behind-closed-doors meeting with Zelensky.
“So, that’s one of the things we’ll be talking about hopefully, they won’t need it, hopefully, we’ll be able to get the war over with, without thinking about Tomahawks,” Trump added.
The missiles are built to travel at high subsonic speeds and low heights to better dodge radars, providing Ukraine with a lot more capability and range to target Russian military outposts and energy facilities deep inside the country, military experts told The Hill last week.
Zelensky emphasized the Tomahawks’ capabilities Tuesday.
“We will continue engaging with Europeans and Americans on long-range capabilities,” the Ukrainian leader added. “Air defense is, of course, the top priority.”
On Sunday, Zelensky shared that the U.S. and Ukraine are finalizing a long-term agreement for Kyiv to get 25 Patriot air defense systems.
Trump has continued his push to help end the Russia-Ukraine war, which has been raging for about 3 1/2 years. The president said last week that he expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin “within two weeks or so.”
But, a White House official told The Hill on Tuesday there are no plans for Trump to meet with Putin “in the immediate future,” after a call between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday afternoon that his next moves on Russia and Ukraine would be revealed in the coming days.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is expected to meet with Trump at the White House on Wednesday.
Read the full report at thehill.com.