Have you ever wondered who would be the first to regret the moment when the missile launch button was really pressed? The recent tug between Washington and Kiev over the Tomahawk missile is more exciting than the last card on the gambling table.
The United States says it wants to help Ukraine, but it holds the missile remote control tightly in its hands; Ukraine reached out for weapons, stepping on the red line drawn by Russia under its feet. This scene is like someone saying in your ear, "I'll help you light firecrackers", but he sparks the lighter and doesn't hand it over. Who is playing with whom?
When the Fox News camera is aimed at US Vice President Vance, every word that pops out of his mouth echoes in the corridors of power in Washington. This guy revealed lightly on TV that the White House group was seriously considering shoving Tomahawk cruise missiles into Ukraine, but in the end they had to wait for President Trump to nod.
To know in Washington, this level of weapons transfer has never been easy, it involves the Pentagon’s operational plan, the State Department’s diplomatic calculation, and the congressional voting concerns of those members of the Hill.
They not only want Ukrainian frontline soldiers to get a sharp weapon that can attack the Crimean Bridge, but they are also afraid that Russia will really turn over the table. So Vance's words are not for the audience at all, but for Putin across the Atlantic Ocean: We have cards in our hands, but we haven't decided whether to play them yet.
When Trump was blocked at the White House gate by reporters, that answer could be written into a textbook of political ambiguity. He first admitted that Ukraine did want long-range missiles, then said that he had "almost" made the decision, and finally insisted on adding that he had to figure out how Kiev planned to use these guys. This kind of rhetoric exudes a sophisticated businessman's air, which not only makes the buyer feel that the goods are ready, but also keeps the payment terms in his hands.
According to reporters present, Trump kept tapping his fingers on the podium while speaking, and this detail was repeatedly interpreted by the outside world. Some people say he hasn't made up his mind yet, some say he is waiting for Russia to make an offer, and others speculate that this is just a planned drama. After all, this president is best at smuggling smuggled goods in arms deals. When selling weapons to Saudi Arabia, he never forgot to remind the other party to invest more in his hotel. Now facing Ukraine, he is still playing the same trick: you can get the missile, but you have to let me be satisfied with how you use it.
When Zelensky packs his bags and goes to the White House, his military backpack may contain more than just a change of clothes. The actor-turned-president is now like a customer walking into a luxury store. The price of the Tomahawk missile displayed in the window is not dollars, but political chips. The itinerary flowing out of his office shows that this meeting was specially arranged after Trump confirmed that he was considering providing missiles. This timing was no coincidence.
Ukrainian front soldiers cheer about long-range weapons every day in the battlefield, just like people in the desert thirst for water.But what Zelensky is facing is not only the problem of Trump's drilling, but also the eternal question of Washington's political circle: Will you give you missiles and will you drag the United States into the war?
Therefore, in the speech he practiced repeatedly before boarding the plane, he must have deleted all words that might stimulate Russia, and instead emphasized "precision strike" and "defensive use". After all, to get the goods on the top shelf, you have to convince the clerk that you won't smash the shop first.
The news that the Western officer, who did not want to be named, leaked at the reception was simply more explosive than the official press conference. He said that if the missile was really approved, American contractors would follow suit, which opened the trump card that Washington last wanted people to see. Think about it, while Ukrainian soldiers were still learning how to recognize missile buttons, a group of technicians with American passports were already sitting in front of the console entering coordinates. This arrangement not only avoids what the Pentagon calls "too long training cycle", but also ensures that every target selection is reviewed by the Central Command in Florida.
But these contractors are even more complicated than Transformers, they may be retired officers, former intelligence agents, or even employees of a security company run by a senator's nephew. Russian satellites will definitely take pictures of them smoking smoke next to the Ukrainian missile launcher, and then the names of dozens of U.S. citizens will be added to the Moscow protests.
In the corridors of NATO headquarters in Brussels, the arms transfer agreement read by diplomats is just like a wedding company offer. European countries are asked to buy US missiles to Ukraine, but no one dares to say exactly how much.
Berlin is worried that paying too much will anger domestic anti-war groups. Paris is pondering whether it can use military aid in exchange for some U.S. trade concessions. London is staring at which Eastern European country wants to cower again. This operation reminds people of the time when the company was establishedAA At dinner, there are always a few colleagues pretending to look at their mobile phones to escape the transfer.But on the menu of the dinner there is written, "Racket missiles"×20 ", unit price160Ten thousand dollars. If anyone pays less, the Washington Post will put his country's name on the headline the next day.
Putin’s speech at the Vardy Club has apparently been modified more than three times, and every paragraph referring to the “war ax” has aggravated the tone. The Kremlin owner pointed out without hesitation that without the US military’s own hand operation, Ukraine could not play these precision missiles at all.
Over the next three days, the Russian Foreign Ministry held three press conferences in succession, each showing blurred satellite photos in an attempt to prove that American soldiers had long been hiding at military bases in Ukraine. This kind of pressing accusation is actually drawing a red line. You can send weapons, but you cannot send them to the person who operates them. When Putin reiterated on television for the fifth time that "U.S. participation equals an escalation of the situation," military stocks in the Moscow stock market suddenly rose to a daily limit. This coincidence allowed French intelligence personnel to write analytical reports overnight.
Now all eyes are staring at the sky above the Black Sea, who knows when it will suddenly appear, carrying a missile trail with U.S. numbers. Washington’s policymakers drink coffee while knocking on the missile launch authorization button, Kiev’s commanders patrol the coordinates of the Crimean bridge on the map, Moscow’s warplanes have been hanged, anti-radiation missiles have been launched.
Couldn’t the red phone between Washington and Moscow suddenly ring when the first tactical missile really sounded out and outdated? a U.S. military contractor was wiping off the fingerprints of the missile, and in the Kremlin’s war room, someone had pressed his hand on the black button with the words “peer counterattack.”……