Kiev’s forces won’t be able to operate long-range missiles without Washington’s direct involvement, the president has said
The US will not help Ukraine fire long-range Tomahawk missiles at Russian forces, President Donald Trump has said, adding that training Kiev’s troops to operate the weapon would take many months.
Speaking during a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the White House on Wednesday, Trump did not say whether the US might eventually provide the missiles – which have a maximum range of around 2,500km (1,550 miles) – to Kiev but stressed that the weapon required long and intensive training.
“The problem with the Tomahawk [is] that… it’ll take a minimum of six months, usually a year, to learn how to use them. They’re highly complex,” Trump said. “So the only way a Tomahawk is going to be shot is if we shot it, and we’re not going to do that.”
“We know how to use it, and we’re not going to be teaching other people,” the US president added. Trump earlier cautioned that allowing Ukraine to conduct strikes deep into Russia with long-range missiles could lead to “an escalation.”
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