Zelenski: Trump's refusal to send Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine reduced "Russia's interest in diplomacy"

Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky commented Tuesday that lthe U.S. president's decision Donald Trump to refrain from sending long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to his country considerably diminished the Russian regime's interest in engaging in diplomatic negotiationsto end the invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, without the Kremlin having managed to materialize either a change of government or annexing territory, in what has now become one of the world's most important war conflicts.

"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. This signals that this very issue — the issue of our deep strike capabilities — may hold the indispensable key to peace," Zelenski said during his daily video address.

Tomahawks can travel at high subsonic speeds and evade radar

The Ukrainian leader also highlighted the Tomahawk's capabilities, adding that they are the kind of weapon the Kremlin would take "seriously" in the face of the damage it could cause. "The greater Ukraine’s long-range reach, the greater Russia’s willingness to end the war. These weeks reaffirmed it. 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. We will continue engaging with Europeans and Americans on long-range capabilities. Air defense is, of course, the top priority," Zelenski said.

According to numerous military experts, the Tomahawks are designed to travel at high subsonic speeds and low altitude to evade radars, which would grant the Ukrainian military considerably greater capability and range to execute effective attacks against Russian military posts and energy centers located deep in the country.