Putin: supplies of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine will destroy relations between Russia and the United States

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that possible deliveries of long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine would lead to the destruction of “emerging positive trends” in relations between Washington and Moscow. He said this in an interview with Rossiya TV channel correspondent Pavel Zarubin after speaking at a session of the Valdai discussion club. A fragment of the interview was published on October 5.

“Now you were talking about the President of the United States. There were questions related to the discussion of problems with the supply of new weapon systems, including long-range high-precision systems, Tomahawks, and so on. I said that this would lead to the destruction of our relations, at least the emerging positive trend in these relations,” Putin said.

This is the second time the Russian president has spoken about the supply of Tomahawks to Ukraine and the consequences of this decision.

Speaking at Valdai, Putin said that the supply of these missiles to Ukraine “will not change at all” the balance of forces on the battlefield. According to him, Kyiv will not be able to use these missiles without the participation of the US military, so such strikes will damage relations between Moscow and Washington.

“Will this [the use of Tomahawks] damage our relations, in which there is some light at the end of the tunnel? Of course it will. It is impossible to use Tomahawks without the direct participation of American military personnel. This will mean a completely new, qualitatively new stage of escalation, including in relations between Russia and the United States,” Putin said.

• At the end of September, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, at a closed meeting with Donald Trump, held as part of the UN General Assembly in New York, asked for Tomahawk missiles to be provided to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. US Vice President J.D. Vance said on September 29 that Washington was considering Kiev's request.
• Reuters sources called the supply of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine unlikely. An American official told the agency that Washington has no shortage of Tomahawk missiles, whose flight range can reach 2,500 kilometers, but the existing stocks are intended for the US military and other purposes. According to him, Washington may consider allowing the Europeans to purchase other long-range weapons and supply them to Kyiv.