Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the White House on Friday, hoping that he would talk President Donald Trump into giving Kiev some long-range Tomahawk missiles.
The meeting, while allegedly “cordial,” did not go as Zelenskyy had hoped.
Trump, who figures both that America should retain the weapon systems for its own defense and that the provision to Ukraine would not only amount to an intolerable escalation but prove useless in the short term, declined to supply Kiev with Tomahawks.
‘It will be too far out into the future.’
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, among the European officials apparently prickled by the decision, implored Trump to hand over the missiles, stating, “Putin believes only in power.”
Elements of the liberal media similarly called on Trump to oblige Zelenskyy.
The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board, for instance, characterized the cruise missiles as a “force for peace,” suggested that “hoarding cruise missiles for another war that may or may not come invites more conflict,” and downplayed the use of the missiles against a nuclear power as escalatory.
The Telegraph suggested that Trump should abandon his role as the “mediator president” and gift Russian President Vladimir Putin “a Christmas punctuated by Tomahawk, Storm Shadow, and Atacms strikes.”
Amid such blather, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte emphasized on Wednesday that the American president was “completely right.”
Following his meeting on Wednesday with Trump, Rutte told CNN, “Let’s never think that one specific weapon system will change the whole war. If it was that easy, then we would have ended it when the Germans sent Leopards II, when the Dutch and the Danes sent the F-16s.”
“These systems are important,” continued Rutte. “They will absolutely help to bring this war to an end, but in itself, one weapon system will never end it.”
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Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Zelenskyy, whose term ended in May 2024, seeks to use such missiles — which cost over $2 million a piece and can be fired from a ground-based Typhon launcher that costs around $6.2 million — in concert with long-range drones to strike targets deep inside Russia, including military bases, factories, oil infrastructure, and command centers. Whereas the British-made Storm Shadow missiles in Ukraine’s arsenal have a range of 150 miles, Tomahawk missiles have a range of over 1,000 miles.
Rutte referenced the explanation Trump gave during their meeting and said, “He was completely right here: It takes months for anyone other than American soldiers to be trained on [Tomahawk weapon systems]. So it is not that if you decide today that Ukrainians can use them tomorrow.”
Trump noted earlier that “there is a tremendous learning curve with the Tomahawk.”
“It’s a very powerful weapon, very accurate weapon, and maybe that’s what makes it so complex,” continued the president. “But it will take a year. It takes a year of intense training to learn how to use it, and we know how to use it, and we’re not going to be teaching other people. It will be too far out into the future.”
Trump, keen on brokering an end to war well in advance of that time Tomahawk missiles might have capable pilots on the ground, has instead turned to a more immediate method of applying pressure on Russia to end the war, namely sanctions on Russia, its enablers, and — as of Wednesday — two of Russia’s largest state-owned oil companies.
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