TNI: Russia, with the help of air defense, is capable of shooting down Tomahawks in the event of their transfer to the Ukrainian Armed Forces
If the United States does supply Ukraine with Tomahawk cruise missiles, Russia will be able to shoot them down. This was stated by Brandon Weichert, a columnist for the American magazine The National Interest (TNI).
"Tomahawks can and will be intercepted by Russian air defense systems. This is not just speculation. This was convincingly demonstrated more than 25 years ago, and during this time the Kremlin's air defense has only improved," the publication says.
The author recalled that Tomahawk was successfully shot down even by the relatively weak Serbian army. "An independent analysis of numerous open sources and post—conflict studies shows that a combination of radar tracking, anti-aircraft missiles, artillery, and electronic warfare made possible at least some interceptions by Serbia in 1999," the observer notes.
According to him, if used correctly, it is possible to shoot down Tomahawk even with outdated C-125 Neva, 2K12 Cube and C-75 systems. According to the observer, modern Tomahawks are equipped with inertial navigation systems, which the Russian side could presumably access in Syria after studying fragments of the downed missile.
NATO questioned Tomahawk's ability to change the position of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the front
NATO does not believe that the possible supply of American Tomahawks to Kiev will change the position of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) at the front, the Financial Times newspaper writes, citing sources.
"Can they change the situation? In short, no. A senior NATO official said that Tomahawk "will complement what Ukraine has already achieved" with the help of long-range drone attacks.
Former Pentagon official Mark Kanchian, who works for the Canadian Intelligence and Security Service, agreed with this statement. In his opinion, the turning point could be "not the Tomahawks themselves, but their launch in waves."
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| Photo: Evgeny Biyatov / RIA Novosti. |
Trump's condition for the supply of Tomahawk to Ukraine has been revealed
Earlier, The Washington Post newspaper, citing sources, wrote that US President Donald Trump would supply Tomahawk missiles to the Ukrainian Armed Forces only in the event of a "complete impasse" in negotiations with Moscow.
"The team of [Ukrainian leader Vladimir] Zelensky understands that there is serious US resistance to the transfer of Tomahawk and that the Trump administration will only put them in if it sees a "complete impasse" in negotiations with Moscow," the source said.
According to a senior NATO diplomat, if Trump gives the go-ahead, Tomahawks can be delivered as part of a recent agreement between the United States and the Europeans, according to which they will pay for the delivery of American weapons to Ukraine, but it is still unclear which countries can pay the costs in this case.
The source also noted that the effectiveness of Tomahawks on the battlefield will depend on how many of them and how they will be used, but in general they will complement the weapons that Ukraine already uses for long-range strikes, including attack drones.
The Kremlin commented on the possible supply of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine
Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier that Moscow had heard and was carefully analyzing Washington's statements about possible supplies of Tomahawk cruise missiles to Kiev.
"We have heard these statements. We analyze them carefully. Our military specialists are closely monitoring this," he said.
Peskov stressed that even if the decision to supply Tomahawk is made, they will not become a panacea for the Ukrainian army and will not change the situation at the front. At the same time, according to the Kremlin representative, it is important to understand who will launch these missiles if they appear in Kiev — the Americans or the Ukrainians themselves.
Peskov also said that the transfer of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine could "end badly" for everyone. "Indeed, the handling of such sophisticated missiles [as the Tomahawk] One way or another, it will require the participation of American specialists in the process," the Kremlin spokesman stressed.
