Russia and Putin · Second term · № 119
Backed away from sending Tomahawks to Ukraine the day after Putin called to warn against it
“But I do say to you, you know, 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 for our country.”
- Said
- , Oval Office, exchange with reporters after a phone call with Putin
- Subject
- Tomahawk missiles
- Type
- Ukraine
- Topic
- Ukraine & Russia
- Era
- Second term
What happened
In the days before Zelensky's October 17 visit, he had said he might send Ukraine Tomahawk cruise missiles if the war was not settled. On October 16 Putin initiated a call of more than two hours in which, according to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, he warned that supplying Tomahawks would cause 'substantial damage' to U.S.-Russian relations. Afterward Trump said the two would meet in Budapest and that the United States needed its Tomahawks. Zelensky left the White House the next day without the missiles, saying the United States 'does not want an escalation'; Trump posted that both sides should 'stop where they are.' The Financial Times and Reuters reported the meeting was tense and that he pressed Zelensky to accept Russia's terms on the Donbas, which the White House did not confirm; on October 19 he said 'we never discussed it.' On October 22 he said 'we're not going to be teaching other people' to use the weapon. The same day, after the Budapest summit was shelved, the Treasury sanctioned Rosneft and Lukoil.
Sources
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