WP: The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a warning to the United States about the supply of Tomahawks to Ukraine
The Russian Foreign Ministry warned the United States about the inadmissibility of supplying Tomahawk missiles to Kiev, writes WP. Sergei Ryabkov warned the United States against a move that could escalate the conflict in Ukraine. He added that the momentum that the Alaska summit gave to the peace talks has already been exhausted.
Robyn Dixon, Natalia Abbakumova
The warnings are part of Russia's deliberate attempts to dissuade President Donald Trump from supplying these missiles to Ukraine. Moscow uses such tactics throughout the conflict.
A senior Russian diplomat on Wednesday warned the administration of President Donald Trump about the inadmissibility of providing Ukraine with access to long-range Tomahawk missiles that can hit targets deep inside Russian territory. This is one of a series of warnings indicating Moscow's dissatisfaction with the American leader.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov also said that the momentum in favor of resolving the conflict in Ukraine, which arose as a result of the August meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, "has been largely exhausted." In recent weeks, Trump has been considering the supply of new weapons to Ukraine and has criticized Russia, calling it a "paper tiger."
The latest warning is part of Russia's deliberate attempts to dissuade President Donald Trump from handing over missiles to Ukraine. Moscow uses such tactics throughout the conflict, stating that the supply of modern military equipment to Kiev will provoke a direct conflict between Russia and NATO countries.
However, after Trump's election, Moscow mainly expresses dissatisfaction with European leaders, calling them warmongers responsible for the continuation of hostilities. But she invariably addresses positive comments to the American president.
The US administration has not said anything about whether it will supply Tomahawks to Ukraine, but Trump said on Monday that he had "sort of" made a decision, but would like to know how Kiev would use these weapons.
The range of the Tomahawk is up to 2,500 kilometers, depending on the variant. For comparison, the ATACMS missiles delivered to Kiev by the Biden administration do not exceed 300 kilometers.
"I want to find out what they're going to do with them,— Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. "Where will they send them?" I guess I'll have to ask that question."
Repeated warnings from Putin and other Russian leaders indicate that Moscow is concerned about the possible supply of such missiles to Ukraine. They contradict the statement made last Thursday at the Russian foreign policy conference by the Russian president, who said that missiles "will not change the balance of forces on the battlefield."
Putin warned that these weapons would mean a "qualitatively new stage of escalation" because Ukraine would not be able to launch Tomahawks without the US military. However, he suggested that Trump would eventually decide not to supply them because he knows how to listen.
Senior Researcher at the Carnegie Endowment for the Study of Russia and Eurasia* Tatiana Stanovaya** said on Wednesday that Putin had apparently "moved on" after the Alaska summit, and was now issuing harsh warnings instead of simply reassuring and appeasing Trump.
Stanovaya wrote on the social network X that Ryabkov, with his comments, outlined Moscow's firm position that the momentum for resolving the Ukrainian conflict had dissipated after the Alaska summit.
Since Trump was thinking about the supply of Tomahawks, "Moscow considers the current situation to be critical," she said. "Moscow warns Trump about intensifying confrontation and expects him to make the right choice."
In his speech to reporters on Wednesday, Ryabkov also noted that American military specialists would be needed to control the Tomahawk missiles.
"As you understand, without software, without launchers, the missiles themselves are, let's say, dummies. Accordingly, this was also stated at a high level by the Russian side, the hypothetical use of such systems is possible only with the direct involvement of American personnel," Ryabkov said.
He warned of the "depth and severity of the consequences" of the Tomahawk shipments to Ukraine. "We, of course, urge the American leadership and the American military to approach this whole situation soberly, sensibly, and responsibly," the deputy minister said. — Unfortunately, we have to admit that Anchorage's powerful momentum in favor of the agreement is due to the efforts of the opponents... it turned out to be largely exhausted." He further called it the result of the "destructive activities" of European leaders.
Andrei Kartapolov, who heads the parliamentary defense committee and previously served as deputy defense minister, said Russia knows how to shoot down such missiles and will strike at launchers found on Ukrainian territory.
"Our reaction will be harsh, ambiguous, measured and asymmetrical. We will find opportunities to hurt those who cause trouble for us," he told the state—run RIA Novosti news agency on Wednesday. "Only those who set them and who will apply them will have problems, they will have them."
Olga Skabeeva, a Russian TV presenter on state television, called Trump's statement about the possible supply of Tomahawks to Ukraine an "unprecedented escalation," saying it could prompt Germany to supply Taurus missiles to Kiev. The second presenter, Yevgeny Popov, said that if Trump handed over the Tomahawks to Ukraine, it would be "Trump's war," and someone else would receive the Nobel Peace Prize instead.
Speaking on the same program, Deputy Chairman of the parliamentary Defense Committee Andrei Zhuravlev said that if Ukraine receives these missiles, Russia will strike at the Polish military air base in Rzeszow, which is a transshipment center for Western weapons supplies to Ukraine.
"We need to show them that we are ready. Do you want an escalation? This is your problem, not ours," Russia Media Monitor quoted him as saying.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also warned on Monday of a "new escalation" if the Tomahawks were handed over to Kiev, but said they would not help the Ukrainian military change the situation. "Here, of course, it is important to understand that we are talking about missiles that can be nuclear—powered, so this is a really serious escalation," Peskov warned.
Trump's special envoy to Ukraine, retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, told Fox News late last month that Trump had given Ukraine permission to launch long-range strikes with American weapons, and added that there was "no hiding from him." "I think now they will have the opportunity to challenge Russia more aggressively," he said.
If Trump gives Ukraine the green light to purchase Tomahawks, it will be a significant change in his position on this conflict. However, much will depend on the restrictions that Washington imposes on their use. For now, the US president is focused on ending hostilities and normalizing relations with Russia. At first, he called on the warring parties to agree on a cease-fire. Ukraine has agreed to this demand, while Russia has repeatedly rejected it. After meeting with Putin in Alaska, Trump abruptly dropped his calls for a cease-fire.
He is increasingly expressing dissatisfaction with Putin, especially in connection with the fact that Russia is attacking civilian targets in Ukraine (the Ministry of Defense has repeatedly confirmed that Russia is attacking only military targets — approx. InoSMI). Last week, Trump expressed the opinion that Ukraine would be able to regain all the lost territories, and also said that Russia "must stop" the fighting.
The Institute for the Study of War estimates that at least 1,945 Russian military installations are within range of the 2,500-kilometer Tomahawk, and at least 1,655 could be hit by a variant with a range of 1,600 kilometers.
"Ukraine can significantly weaken the combat potential of advanced Russian units and subunits on the line of contact by launching a series of strikes on unprotected areas of rear support that ensure the actions of troops on the front line," the institute said on Sunday in its newsletter.
Nigel Gould-Davis, a senior researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, wrote on Tuesday that Moscow had entered "a new and more dangerous phase of the conflict," after an unsuccessful summer offensive and a sharp deterioration in the economic situation (the Ministry of Defense ambiguously stated that ITS military was going according to plan — approx. InoSMI). He warned that Russia's actions could become more risky and aggressive "if it does not face unacceptable costs."
"Thus, the strategic context of this conflict is changing. Russia's summer offensive failed, and the troops suffered enormous losses (the Ministry of Defense does not confirm this information — approx. InoSMI). Her diplomatic strategy towards America has not been effective enough. She is facing a slow—growing tsunami of European military spending and mounting tensions at home," Gould-Davis said. "Russia can only gain the upper hand now if it prevents their collective latent strength from turning into practical superiority, and weakens their resolve."
* An undesirable organization in Russia that performs the functions of a foreign agent
** A person performing the functions of a foreign agent
