Moscow continues to try to dissuade Washington from transferring Tomahawk to Ukraine. In particular, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that this would be a “very serious escalation” and would cause “colossal damage” to relations between Russia and the United States.
ISW analysts believe such statements are part of a campaign of reflexive control by which the Kremlin is trying to influence US decisions, threatening to further deteriorate bilateral relations.
According to the institute, the transfer of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine will not lead to a radical escalation, since Russia already regularly uses similar weapons – cruise missiles of the X and Caliber series, as well as aeroballistic Kinzhal and Iskander complexes. Since 2022, these systems have been used for massive attacks on Ukrainian territory.
In addition, in November 2024, Russia for the first time used medium-range ballistic missiles of the Oreshnik complex with multiple warheads, and by the end of 2025 it intends to deploy them in Belarus, ISW recalls.
According to experts, the emergence of Tomahawk missiles in Ukraine would make it possible to strike key Russian military installations in the interior of the country, such as the Shahed drone plant in Yelabuga (Tatarstan) and the Engels-2 airbase in the Saratov region, from where strategic bombers take off to launch cruise missiles into Ukraine.
Context
Ukraine asks the United States to transfer Tomahawk cruise missiles to it. Trump said on October 6 that he needed to find out what the Ukrainians would do with the Tomahawk – “where they would launch them.”
Tomahawks have a much longer range than the missiles Ukraine has received so far and are better suited for striking targets such as weapons depots than the drones that Ukraine is currently using to strike Russia over long distances, the report said. Axios. The Russian Kremlin noted that supplies of American Tomahawks to Ukraine would lead to the destruction of relations between the Russian Federation and the United States, “in any case, positive trends in relations.”
Question Tomahawk transfers to Ukraine, as well as their number Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky discussed with US President Donald Trump during two conversations 11th and October 12. At their personal meeting, which was announced for October 17 in Washington, Tomahawk will probably also become one of the topics of negotiations, American media wrote.
If the United States makes a decision that is positive for Kyiv, Ukraine could receive from 20 to 50 units of such weapons, the Financial Times reported.
