US "Looking At" Selling Tomahawk Missiles To Ukraine, JD Vance Says

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week revealed in an interview with Axios that he asked President Trump on to provide Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles, which would allow Ukrainian forces to strike deep into Russia, even as far away as Moscow.

Zelensky made the dubious argument that this would force President Putin to the negotiating table to make significant compromise and end the war. Zelensky suggested that the Ukrainians might not even have to use the Tomahawks it was given, only that the threat alone could be enough to scare Putin.

The White House has not yet officially rejected the possibility, but instead is actually mulling the proposed transfer. Vice President JD Vance indicated while speaking to Fox News Sunday that President Trump would make the final decision. He said the White House is "looking at" the issue:

"You asked this question about Tomahawks. It's something the president is going to make the final determination on," Vance told Fox News.

"What the president is going to do is what's in the best interest for the United States of America," he said. "I know we're having conversations this very minute about the issue".

"We're certainly looking at a number of requests from the Europeans. And one of the things, again, that I think has really worked about the president's policy in Ukraine and Russia is that it's forced the Europeans to step up in a big way," Vance continued. The Tomahawk missile has a range of approximately 1,550 miles and so could do serious damage deep into Russian territory, which President Putin has declared a bright red line (that is, utilizing US long-range missiles to attack Russia).

Via AP

Allowing the Tomahawk transfer could spark the path to WW3 with Russia, but it's a positive sign that Vance was very vague about it, only confirming 'several' requests have been made by European allies.

Trump has so far shown an unwillingness for such brazen escalation, and has yet to even pull the trigger on threatened secondary sanctions, to the chagrin of hawks in Europe.

However, Trump has also reportedly grown increasingly frustrated with Russian President Putin's unwillingness to engage in peace negotiations without Kiev making clear first that it's ready to make serious territorial and other concessions.

This is probably why Zelensky is utilizing his argument that Tomahawks would somehow force Putin to the negotiating table.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is still using long-range drones for strikes on the Moscow region. Overnight a Ukrainian drone strike killed a child and his grandmother in a town outside Moscow.

“Last night, air defense forces shot down four drones in Voskresensk and Kolomna," Moscow region Governor Andrei Vorobyov stated on Telegram. "Unfortunately, a tragedy occurred in Voskresensk: two people died in a fire in a private home — a 76-year-old woman and her 6-year-old grandson."

Below are more Ukraine war related overnight developments & headlines via Newsquawk:

NATO

  • Russian President Putin is to deliver a major speech this week, according to multiple media outlets.
  • Belarus's President said that if NATO threatens to shoot down Russian and Belarusian fighter jets, the response will come immediately, according to Reuters.
  • NATO will boost its presence in the Baltic region following drone incidents in Denmark, according to Reuters.
  • Denmark announced that unknown drones were spotted over several military facilities on Friday night, including the country’s main air base Karup, which houses Denmark’s F-16s and F-35s, according to Reuters.

    • RUSSIA-UKRAINE

  • Russian missiles and drones struck Ukraine in a “savage” 12-hour attack, according to Reuters.
  • Russian sources said the Russian army launched strikes targeting military sites in Kyiv and its surroundings, as well as weapons depots and air defence systems.
  • Poland closed its airspace after a “massive” Russian attack on Ukraine’s capital killed at least four people, according to Reuters.
  • Ukrainian President Zelensky said he expects new EU sanctions on Russia this week, according to Reuters.
  • Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said no one expects a return to Ukraine’s 2022 borders, calling it politically blind, according to Reuters.
  • Ukraine said drones struck an oil pumping station in Russia’s Chuvashia region, according to Reuters.
  • The Kremlin said it has received no signals from Kyiv regarding the resumption of Russia-Ukraine talks, via RIA.

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