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Trump Offers Putin a Choice: Settle the War—or Face Tomahawks From Ukraine
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![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
President Donald Trump said he plans to raise the possibility of sending Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine if Russian leader Vladimir Putin does not agree to a settlement, telling reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Israel that he may discuss the issue directly with Putin, Fox News reported on October 12.
Trump said he spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy the same day and discussed Ukraine’s weapons needs.
He suggested that delivering Tomahawks could be used as leverage to influence Moscow’s decisions in the war. “If this war is not going to get settled, I’m going to send them Tomahawks,” Trump told reporters. He added that he would first gauge Putin’s reaction to the idea.
The president characterized the Tomahawk as a highly capable—and highly escalatory—weapon. “The Tomahawk is an incredible weapon, a very offensive weapon, and honestly, Russia does not need that,” he said.
“I may tell him that if the war is not settled, I’m going to send them Tomahawks.” Trump said he might or might not follow through, framing the threat as a bargaining chip: “We may very well. We may not, but we may do it. I think it’s appropriate to bring up.”
Trump also said the United States sells and transfers weapons to NATO partners while criticizing prior US aid policies.
He argued Ukraine needs more air defenses and other systems.
“They need Patriots very badly. They’d like to have Tomahawks. That’s a step up,” he said, but Washington must also retain enough stockpiles to defend US interests.
When describing how he would raise the subject with Putin, Trump reiterated the conditional nature of the offer and his desire for a diplomatic resolution. “I want to see the war settled,” he said.
Earlier, Andrei Kartapolov, head of the Russian parliament’s defense committee, said that Russia will shoot down Tomahawk cruise missiles and bomb any launch sites if the US supplies them to Ukraine.
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