WASHINGTON, October 4. /TASS/. The administration of US President Donald Trump is unlikely to hand over Tomahawk long-range missiles to Ukraine, because it may potentially become embroiled in a direct conflict with Russia as a result, columnist Ted Snider wrote in an article for The American Conservative magazine.
In his opinion, Ukraine could not utilize the cruise missiles without US intelligence locating targets and guiding the missiles, a potential red line that could draw the US into direct conflict with Russia.
The article also says that the US produces less than 200 such missiles a year and has a low stock on them, "meaning Ukraine is unlikely to get many of them, if any at all."
US Vice President JD Vance said earlier that the Washington administration was considering providing Tomahawk cruise missiles to other NATO countries for a subsequent transfer to Ukraine. According to him, the final decision on the matter will be made by US President Donald Trump. On September 26, the Axios portal reported that Trump had refused to supply Tomahawk missiles to Kiev, noting that this was the only weapons system on the list that the American leader declined to sell to European NATO countries for Ukraine’s benefit.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the plenary session of the Valdai Discussion Club on October 2 that "using Tomahawk missiles without the direct participation of American military personnel will be impossible." "Should this happen, it will herald a completely new, qualitatively new stage of escalation, including in relations between Russia and the United States," Putin added.