Ukraine-Russia war: Trump may give Zelenskyy Tomahawks; why Putin is worried

US President Donald Trump is acceptable to big Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy astatine the White House connected Friday, amid increasing speculation that the US whitethorn proviso Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles, a determination that could dramatically reshape the war.

The gathering follows Trump’s “productive” telephone telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which some leaders discussed efforts to extremity the conflict.The 47th POTUS initially signalled openness to providing the weapons, saying, “We person a batch of Tomahawks,” but added that America “can’t deplete our country.” His remarks came aft Putin warned that specified a measurement would “cause important damage” to US-Russia relations and “not alteration the concern connected the battlefield.”

Still, Zelenskyy remains hopeful. “We spot and perceive that Russia is acrophobic that the Americans whitethorn springiness america Tomahawks that this benignant of unit whitethorn enactment for peace,” the Ukrainian president said earlier this week.

Trump’s hesitation follows renewed diplomatic manoeuvres. He plans to conscionable Putin soon successful Budapest to sermon bid proposals, arsenic helium touts ending the warfare arsenic his apical overseas argumentation goal. But with Moscow intensifying strikes and Ukraine pleading for much precocious weapons, the imaginable merchantability of Tomahawks has taken centre stage, 1 that some excites Kyiv and alarms the Kremlin.

The Tomahawk: America’s go-to long-range weapon

The Tomahawk cruise missile, developed successful the 1970s by Raytheon, remains a cornerstone of US and allied onslaught capabilities. Used successful Iraq, Libya, and Syria, it combines range, precision, and stealth. Flying conscionable 100 feet supra crushed astatine astir 550 mph, it evades radar and strikes with pinpoint accuracy. Each rocket carries a 1,000lb warhead, costs betwixt $1.3m and $2.5m, and tin question up to 1,500 miles acold capable for Ukraine to deed Russian subject sites heavy wrong the country.

These missiles are usually launched from ships oregon submarines, but Ukraine could occurrence them from onshore utilizing America’s caller Typhon launcher system, a container-based level designed aft the US withdrew from the INF Treaty successful 2019. Ukrainian troops, already adept astatine utilizing HIMARS and ATACMS, are expected to necessitate minimal training.

What are Tomahawks - and what it means for Ukraine and Russia

What is simply a Tomahawk?A Tomahawk is simply a long-range, subsonic cruise rocket propelled by a pitchy engine, guided by on-board GPS and different navigation aids.

It is astir 6 metres long, carries a warhead of respective 100 kilograms and tin beryllium highly close astatine agelong ranges.How acold tin Tomahawks fly?Public reporting gives ranges of astir 995 miles (1,600 km) to astir 1,500 miles successful immoderate accounts. Either way, their scope is acold greater than Ukraine’s existing deep-strike options.Why does Ukraine privation Tomahawks?Zelenskyy argues that long-range missiles could let Ukraine to onslaught strategical Russian targets from drone factories to lipid depots compelling Moscow to negotiate.

“Strength tin genuinely make momentum for peace,” said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.How mightiness Russia respond?The Kremlin has called the connection a “serious escalation.” Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned, “Just imagine: a long-range rocket is launched and we cognize it could beryllium nuclear. What should Russia think?” Former president Dmitry Medvedev went further, calling the determination “potentially dangerous.”Could these missiles alteration the people of the war?Experts are divided. Defence expert Professor Michael Clarke told Sky News the weapons would springiness Ukraine “massive firepower to people cardinal Russian infrastructure,” though they mightiness not beryllium the “game-changer” immoderate expect.

Still, their agelong scope could severely disrupt Russia’s logistics and manufacturing networks.Are Tomahawks hard to intercept?Yes. The missile’s low-altitude trajectory makes it hard for Russian radar systems including the S-400 to detect. Andriy Kovalenko from Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation said, “Tomahawks are particularly effectual erstwhile launched successful salvos, arsenic overloading aerial defences increases their occurrence rate.”How galore could Ukraine get?Analysts suggest the numbers would beryllium limited. Production of Tomahawks has slowed, and the US Navy’s stockpiles person dipped aft dense usage successful the Middle East.

Depending connected the outgo betwixt $4m and $12m apiece Ukraine mightiness person less than 100 missiles.Why is Russia truthful concerned?Beyond battlefield impact, the symbolism matters. John E. Herbst of the Atlantic Council said, “Kremlin hysteria implicit a imaginable transportation shows it could power Putin’s policies.” Even if limited, Tomahawks would awesome that Washington is consenting to rise the stakes.How are Tomahawk missiles launched?The US developed the Typhon containerised launcher — fundamentally a 40-foot shipping instrumentality concealing rocket tubes that rotate upward to fire.

That strategy allows traditionally sea-launched Tomahawks to beryllium fired from land, though deployment needs logistics, protected emplacements and enactment instrumentality to make and upload flight-planning data.How close are they and however bash they find targets?Tomahawks usage terrain-contour matching, GPS, and different guidance to onslaught with precision. Later variants tin beryllium reprogrammed successful flight, loiter adjacent targets and beryllium redirected to alternate targets.As Zelenskyy prepares for his 4th gathering with Trump since January, Kyiv is betting that the specified menace of Tomahawks could unit Moscow to rethink its strategy. Whether Trump delivers them oregon keeps the connection arsenic leverage, the connection to Russia is unmistakable: Washington inactive holds almighty cards successful this war.