Russian President Vladimir Putin has given a strong warning against the possibility of the US sending long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. He says that this would seriously harm US-Russia relations, even if it didn’t change the balance of power on the battlefield.
Putin said at a meeting for foreign policy specialists in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, “This will mean a completely new, qualitatively new stage of escalation, including in relations between Russia and the United States.”
Is direct American involvement unavoidable?
The President of Russia said that using such advanced weapons would be fundamentally risky and represent a big risk. He also said that it would be “impossible” for the missiles to be deployed efficiently without American troops being sent in directly.
Putin’s comments came after US Vice President JD Vance said that Washington was seriously thinking about Ukraine’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles.
However, sources who spoke to the news agency Reuters said that the supply may not be immediately available because most of the Tomahawk missiles that are currently available are already set aside for the US Navy and other operational purposes.
Air defense will change, but damage will be done.
Putin stayed defiant about the military conclusion even if he warned about the hazards. He admitted that the Tomahawk missiles would “certainly cause us damage,” but he said that the Kremlin’s air defenses would soon adjust to the new danger.
“It will definitely not change the balance of power on the battlefield,” he said, stressing that the Russian military is still making progress.
New Plan for Sharing US Intelligence
There are indications that the US is already going to increase its intelligence support to Kyiv, which is why there is a debate about missiles. The Wall Street Journal said that the US will give Ukraine information about long-range energy infrastructure targets in Russia. This step is meant to make it easier for Ukrainian troops to attack important refineries, pipelines, and power plants. This will cut off the Kremlin’s access to important oil and energy money that it needs to pay for the conflict.
A Warning About Oil Piracy and Praise for Trump
Putin sent mixed messages. He threatened the US government but also praised his most recent meeting with US President Donald Trump in Alaska, which was convened to talk about peace talks in the middle of the battle.
Putin stated, “It was good that we tried to look for and find possible ways to settle the Ukrainian crisis.” He also said he felt “comfortable” talking to the American leader.
The Russian president also gave Ukraine’s Western allies a separate, sharp warning not to try to take ships delivering Russian oil to world markets. He said, “It’s piracy, and how do you deal with pirates?” You kill them.
Lastly, Putin discussed the New START treaty, which is a weapons control agreement from 2010. Putin repeated his invitation to the US to extend the accord until its scheduled termination date in February.