Source: Shangguan News
On September 28, local time, U.S. Vice President Watson said in the "Fox Sunday News" program that the U.S. is considering Ukraine's request for the acquisition of long-range "Tax" missiles.
If Trump plays, it would mean the U.S. breaks the embargo on providing long-range weapons to Ukraine.
U.S. officials to visit this week
Last week, during a visit to the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Trump met with Ukrainian President Zelensky, who then asked the US to provide a cruise missile.
According to Zelensky, the United States first sold Tomahawk missiles to European countries, and then European countries shipped these missiles to Ukraine. Vance confirmed this statement on the program.
Earlier it was that the new mechanism for military aid to Ukraine agreed by the United States and NATO has been launched, namely that the United States supplies weapons to Ukraine, and the relevant costs are paid by European countries.The first batches of military equipment have been shipped to Ukraine, including Patriot missiles and high-mobility rocket artillery systems (HIMAS).
This week, Ukrainian officials plan to travel to Washington for talks with U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth and other officials, focusing on the provision of long-range weapons.
The "Taxic" missile has a range of up to 2,500 kilometers, far beyond the U.S. Army's tactical missile system (about 300 kilometers) that the Ukrainian army obtained last year, and its power is far greater than any Western long-range weapons that the Ukrainian side had previously obtained.
If the "Tax" is taken, it will be filled with a "big-killer" for the Ukrainian arsenal, which can bypass Russian advanced air defense systems, enough to strike Russian core ground targets, including Moscow, while also responding to Russia's ongoing launched missiles and drone attacks.
Pressure on Putin?
Since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Ukraine has repeatedly called on the United States to provide long-range combat capabilities, but has so far been rejected.
Last year, Zelensky was exposed to asking the U.S. for a “war ax” missile, and the Biden administration did not agree.
At the time, a senior U.S. official said that this was a “completely impossible requirement”, with the U.S. own limited stockpiles of “Tax” missiles, and the number of missiles needed by Ukraine far exceeding the number of missiles that the U.S. or other allies could provide.
More importantly, the range of the "Tax" can cover the interior of Russia in depth, and the U.S. is concerned that the provision to the Ukrainian side will pose great risks.
In fact, Trump has also previously rejected Ukraine’s request for long-range missiles.
Now, Vance's remarks seem to show that Trump is ready to take a bold step in providing long-range weapons to Kiev.
Combined with recent changes in Trump’s attitude to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict – claims that Ukraine can reclaim all territory from Russia, the accusation of Russia as a “paper tiger”, can also be seen as the latest footprint on the issue of providing a “tacksack”.
The outside world believes that since the U.S. Russian leaders held the Alaska summit on August 15, U.S. diplomatic efforts have proved in vain. Russia’s negative approach to ceasefire and peace talks, but “active” on the battlefield, Trump was exposed to this being angry and frustrated, prompting his position toward Russia to turn to hard.
Zelensky hasly previously lobbied Trump that if the Ukrainian army holds long-range weapons such as the "war ax", it will help to put pressure on Russian President Putin, forcing him to negotiate a peace deal, while also putting Russia under greater pressure in the negotiations.
However, some analysts pointed out that Russia will undoubtedly regard the United States' provision of "Tomahawks" to Ukraine as an escalation of the conflict. Moscow will not yield, and the regional situation may intensify tensions.