Source: Shangguan News
According to three sources familiar with the relevant plans, US President Trump will hold a working lunch meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday. At present, discussions on providing Tomahawk long-range missiles to Kiev are gradually heating up.
Re-appointment
According to two sources familiar with the matter, Trump had spoken with Zelensky twice on Saturday and last Sunday, and the two sides discussed the possibility of Ukraine acquiring the "Tomahawk." Sources said that no final decision has been made yet, but negotiations between the two sides on this issue have made progress.
A high-level delegation led by Ukrainian Prime Minister Sviridenko is scheduled to arrive in Washington ahead of Friday's meeting to pave the way for talks between the two leaders.
One of the sources said that the main topics of the talks are expected to include air defense issues, the provision of additional weapons by the United States to Kiev, and Russia's possible return to the negotiating table.
Zelensky has been lobbying for U.S. provision of “Tax” missiles. Trump said he mentioned in a call with Zelensky last Sunday that he could send a new ultimatum to Russian President Putin: either restart serious peace talks or the U.S. will provide the Ukrainian side with a “Tax”.
The "Taxic" is a US-made subsonic long-range cruise missile with a maximum range of more than 2,000 km. If launched from the territory of Ukraine, the range can cover the Russian capital Moscow.
Risked
Analysts generally believe that if the U.S. provided Ukraine with a “tactical ax” it would mean Washington would take a dangerous step on the Ukrainian issue, escalate the Russian-Ukrainian conflict further, and potentially increase the risk of the U.S. and NATO being directly involved in the conflict.
Earlier this month, Putin said at the plenary session of the 22nd annual meeting of the Russian think tank Valdai International Debate Club that if the United States provides "tomahawk" to Ukraine, it will further damage Russia-US relations and undermine the emerging dawn in Russia-US relations. "This will mean that the situation has entered a new, qualitative stage of upgrading."
Russian military analysts believe that Trump's latest remarks are only to show his willingness to support Ukraine, not to send concrete signals or try to pressure. Earlier in the Biden period, the US discussed the possibility of providing the Ukrainian army with "war-ax" missiles, but one was concerned that the missiles would damage the American image by Russia's interception, and the other was that a small number of missiles could not change the battle scene. Given the political and military consequences, even if the US provided the Ukrainian "war-ax", it could be an old model of improvement.
Transformation?
The last time Trump and Zelensky met was on September 23 during the UN General Assembly, when the two met in New York.
At the time, Trump expressed confidence that Zelensky hoped to “take back the entire Ukraine” and said the United States would continue to supply weapons to NATO, which was also seen as another significant shift in Trump’s position on Ukraine.
Last month, Trump's special envoy for Ukraine, Kellogg, hinted that Trump had authorized a strike deep in Russian territory. Kellogg said that "there is no so-called'safe haven '" in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. What Trump's attitude is, the whole world is constantly paying attention.
In addition to the "Tomahawk" issue, U.S. and Uzbekistan leaders are expected to discuss other cooperation when they meet on Friday.
For example, Ukraine and the U.S. are approaching a drone agreement where Ukraine will share drone technology with the U.S. European diplomats believe such an agreement is an important means of prompting the U.S. president to continue to pay attention and support Ukraine.
For example, the Ukrainian side will fight for further U.S. support in the field of air defense and energy. In recent days, the Ukrainian energy infrastructure has been heavily bombed by the Russian army, with power and heating disrupted in parts of the region. The winter is coming and the situation is more severe. There are reports that for months, the U.S. has been sharing intelligence with Ukraine, allowing Ukraine to strike "far from the frontline" important Russian energy facilities, including several refineries.