Putin Warns Tomahawk Supply to Ukraine Would Destroy U.S.-Russia Relations
If the United States supplied Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine for long-range strikes deep into Russia, it would lead to the destruction of Moscow’s relationship with Washington, said Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the United States will provide Ukraine with intelligence on long-range energy infrastructure targets in Russia, as it weighs whether to send Kyiv missiles that could be used in such strikes. Two officials confirmed the Journal report to Reuters.
“This will lead to the destruction of our relations, or at least the positive trends that have emerged in these relations,” Putin said in a video clip released on Sunday by Russian state television reporter Pavel Zarubin.
On Thursday, the Russian president said it was impossible to use Tomahawks without the direct participation of U.S. military personnel and so any supply of such missiles to Ukraine would trigger a “qualitatively new stage of escalation”.
“This will mean a completely new, qualitatively new stage of escalation, including in relations between Russia and the United States,” Putin said.
He added that Tomahawks could harm Russia, but that it would simply shoot them down and improve its own air defence.
It is noteworthy that Tomahawk cruise missiles have a range of 2,500 kilometres (1,550 miles), which means that if Ukraine got the missiles, then the Kremlin and all of European Russia would be within target.
