Launch of a Tomahawk crochet missile / Photo source: Christopher Senenko / US .Navy / Zuma Press / Profimedia
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski asked US President Donald Trump this week to provide Kiev long -range cruise missiles to press Russian President Vladimir Putin to make peace on Friday the American Axios.
According to the information broadcast by Axios, the request was made during the meeting with the closed doors with Zelenski on Tuesday, in the margin of the UN General Assembly in New York. Axios quotes an Ukrainian official and another source familiar with the discussion between the two leaders.
In a separate interview that he gave to the Axios publication on Wednesday, Ukrainian president Volodimir Zelenski confirmed that he had requested long-range weapons.
Zelenski said that he asked Trump an additional armament system that could force Russian President Vladimir Putin to go into peace negotiations-maybe even without Ukraine having to use it.
The Kiev leader did not name this armament system during the Axios interview, but said that if Russia knew that Ukraine has it, the pressure for negotiations would increase considerably.
Tomahawk, which can reach targets up to 2,500 km away and transport an explosive load of 450 kg, would significantly exceed the capabilities of any long -range system that Ukraine received from Western allies.
In fact, Ukraine has repeatedly requested Washington to provide long-range weapons, but the US refused. Former US President Joe Biden rejected similar requests from Zelenski, considering that he could lead to a significant escalation of the conflict.
