Former Russian President Dmitri Medvedev has said any U.S. delivery of long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles “could end badly” after U.S. President Donald Trump floated sending the missiles to Kyiv.
Why It Matters
Vice President JD Vance suggested last month the U.S. could consent to Ukraine’s long-repeated request for Tomahawk sea-launched missiles, which would add significantly to Kyiv’s ability to strike deep into Russia. The weapons have a range of roughly 1,550 miles, broadly similar to the Kalibr cruise missiles the Kremlin has frequently used against Ukraine.
Russia has warned it would destroy Washington’s relations with Moscow and that the missiles can’t be used by Ukraine without U.S. involvement.
What To Know
Medvedev, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the current deputy chair of Russia’s security council, said on Monday the “delivery of these missiles could end badly for everyone,” before adding: “Most of all, for Trump himself.”
Newsweek has reached out to the White House for comment via email.
Trump and Medvedev have previously publicly clashed, including when Medvedev alluded to Russia’s “dead hand” mechanism, which is designed to launch nuclear weapons even if Russia’s most senior commanders are taken out by an enemy attack.
Trump then deployed two U.S. Navy nuclear submarines after what he called Medvedev’s “highly provocative” statements. The Republican has labeled Medvedev, who is well known for his bellicose social media commentary, a “stupid person.”
“One can only hope that this is another empty threat,” Medvedev said in his Monday post to messaging app Telegram, adding: “Like sending nuclear submarines closer to Russia.”
Trump said he “may” send the missiles when fielding questions from journalists on Air Force One, en route to Israel overnight into Monday. “We’ll see,” the U.S. president added.
“I might say ‘Look: if this war is not going to get settled, I’m going to send them Tomahawks,'” Trump said.
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Sunday he had spoken with Trump twice in two days and discussed “strengthening” Ukraine, including the country’s long-range capabilities. The conversations were “productive,” Zelensky added.
A spokesperson for Kyiv’s foreign ministry had said last week there was a “very detailed and active discussion about the possibility of providing these missiles.”
Andrei Kartapolov, head of the Russian parliamentary defense committee, played down the possible battlefield impact of providing Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles, but said on October 8 Moscow’s response would be “tough, complex, calibrated and asymmetrical.”
What People Are Saying
Heorhii Tykhyi, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s foreign ministry, said on Friday in remarks reported by domestic media: “Right now, there is no ‘no’ response.”
“We call on the US to fully assess the consequences of such a step a thousand times,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said in comments published by state media earlier this month.
