MOSCOW, October 22. /TASS/. The US is unlikely to transfer Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine, as it is not even crear whether Washington has any new units available for export, former New Jersey Supreme Court judge, US analyst and blogger Andrew Napolitano told TASS in an interview.
Commenting on the possibility of Washington supplying Tomahawk cruise missiles to Kiev, he noted that the administration of US President Donald Trump realizes that "once they're used, that would be deemed an act of war."
"On the other hand, I don't believe that the missiles are even in existence yet, and it takes a lot of time and money to craft them, to build them. I don't think they're as dangerous or treacherous as everybody fears," Napolitano noted.
Meanwhile, the expert pointed out that this type of weaponry is offensive, and "the Americans have no place giving them to the Ukrainians." "If they do, it would require American technicians and military personnel to operate them. It would enable President [of Russia Vladimir] Putin to deem that an act of war by the United States against the Russian Federation. Donald Trump doesn't want that," Napolitano stated.
On October 17, during a meeting with Zelensky at the White House, Trump stated that Washington itself requires Tomahawk missiles and other weapons Kiev would like to have. According to Axios, citing sources, Trump told Zelensky that the United States currently has no intention of providing Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. Trump reportedly emphasized that his current priority is diplomacy, and that supplying such missiles could undermine efforts in that regard.
Earlier, on October 6, Trump announced that he had essentially reached a decision regarding the potential transfer of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, though he did not disclose the specifics of that decision. Russian President Vladimir Putin responded by warning that the use of Tomahawk missiles without the direct involvement of American military personnel would be impossible and cautioned that such a move would mark a "completely new, qualitatively different stage of escalation," affecting Russia-US relations. Additionally, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov cautioned that if Tomahawk missiles are supplied to Kiev, Moscow would need to respond appropriately.