The Ukrainian president asked President Trump, during their meeting on Tuesday, to supply Tomahawk rockets, who could enable Ukraine to hurt Russia.
Zelenski told the show “The Axios Show” on Wednesday that he had asked Trump an additional weapon system, which could force the Russian president to enter peace talks, perhaps even without even Ukraine needed to use it.
Zelenski did not name the weapon system in an interview with Barack Ravid, but said that if Russia knew that Ukraine had it, the pressure for talks would increase significantly. Ukrainian official and another source with the knowledge of the Trump -Chalenski meeting confirmed that it was Tomahawk, high -precision rockets.
“I think President Trump knows. I told him yesterday what we need, one thing. By the way, we need it, but that doesn’t mean we will use it. Because if we have it, I think it’s an additional pressure on Putin to sit down and talk, “he said. Zelenski hinted that terms of Ukraine’s use of the system could be put on, depending on Russia’s behavior.
Ukraine has reported Tomahawk in her talks with the US several times in the last year, including a list of weapons systems requested by Kiev a few months ago. It was the only weapon system on the list that Trump did not agree to be sold to NATO countries on the part of Ukraine, according to a source knowing the process.
Zelenski said Trump replied “we will work it” when he asked for the new weapon system. The US may be concerned both on the risk of escalating if Washington supplies a rocket that can reach Moscow and its limited Tomahawk stocks, as it takes many months to be replaced.
Tomahawk
Tomahawk, manufactured by RTX, has a much larger range than NATO missiles, reaching up to 1,000 miles, compared to about 190 miles for US ATACMS. It is also much faster than Ukrainian drones and has greater devastating power.
Ukraine has tried to bypass the reluctance of her partners to provide her with long -range weapons by developing her own systems such as Palianytsia and Flamingo, although they do not have the history of Tomahawk decades.
