National Interest

by Paul J. Saunders

    In the last three months, President Donald Trump has shifted his stance considerably on how to bring the Russia-Ukraine War to an end. In February, he dismissed Ukraine’s chances of victory and berated Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office. In August, he welcomed Russian president Vladimir Putin to Alaska in what turned out to be a largely unproductive summit. In September, he announced that he believed that Ukraine could regain Russian-occupied territory and ramped up his sanctions campaign to squeeze Russian oil exports from the international market.

    Now, after meeting with President Trump at the White House on Friday, President Zelensky confirmed that his counterpart would not deliver Tomahawk missiles to Ukrainian forces. President Trump had previously suggested the weapons transfer earlier that week in a bid to gain negotiation leverage over Moscow. Access to Tomahawks, long-range, precision cruise missiles, would allow Ukraine to strike military, energy and infrastructural targets deep within Russian territory.

    The news comes after President Trump agreed to meet with President Putin in Budapest sometime in the next few weeks, a meeting President Zelensky has agreed to join provided it is held under a format acceptable to Ukraine. President Putin also warned against American provision of Tomahawks to Ukraine, saying that doing so would constitute a “significant act of provocation” without impacting Russia’s war effort.

In this episode of the Three Questions Podcast, Paul Saunders discusses the role of Tomahawk missiles in negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine War. Why has President Trump refused to send this weaponry to Kyiv  Did the Tomahawks provide the White House with sufficient leverage in negotiations with Russia  Has this episode enhanced or diminished the prospects for an end to the Ukraine War and a general settlement.