Relations between Moscow and Washington would be ruined, should the latter give the long-range missiles to Kiev, the Russian president has said

Russian President Vladimir Putin. ©  Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov

US President Donald Trump would deal a major blow to relations between Washington and Moscow if he were to approve the delivery of long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned.

Late last month, US Vice President J.D. Vance revealed that the White House was considering supplying Kiev with the rockets, which cost an estimated $1.3 million each and have a range of 2,500km (1,550 miles), meaning that they could potentially reach Moscow and far beyond.

In an interview with Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin late on Saturday, Putin said that the potential decision by Trump to provide Tomahawks to Ukraine would “lead to the destruction of our relations. At least the positive tendencies that have appeared in these relations.”

Speaking at the Valdai forum on Thursday, the Russian president argued that Kiev’s forces would be unable to operate such a sophisticated system without the “direct participation of American military personnel.” Putin expressed confidence that in any event, “the deliveries of American Tomahawk cruise missiles will not change the balance of power on the battlefield.”
He cited earlier deliveries of long-range ATACMS missiles, which at first “caused some damage, but in the end, Russia’s air defense systems adapted.”

 

READ MORE: Ukraine can’t be trusted with Tomahawks – Lavrov

Following a meeting between Vladimir Zelensky and Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York last month, several media outlets claimed that Zelensky had specifically asked for Tomahawk missiles.

Appearing on Fox News last Sunday, Vance confirmed that “we’re certainly looking at it.”

The following day, special envoy Keith Kellogg suggested that the US president might have already approved Ukrainian long-range strikes inside Russia.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Reuters, citing anonymous sources, reported that Washington was unlikely to supply Tomahawks to Kiev as the current inventories were committed to the US Navy and other uses.

Around the same time, the Financial Times quoted an unnamed US official as saying that some people inside Trump’s inner circle were skeptical as to the Tomahawks’ ability to change battlefield dynamics.