Leverage on Putin: Trump does not reject the supply of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, — CNN

However, two other sources note that Trump's consent to the supply of revolutionary American weapons during the meeting with President Zelensky on October 17 is also unlikely. According to unnamed US officials, in recent weeks Trump has not only publicly, but also privately expressed a greater readiness to give Ukraine "Tomahawks", and his administration has already developed a plan to supply weapons in case the president gives such an order.

Journalist insiders claim that the US president is currently holding back from a decision, hoping to get more information from his Ukrainian counterpart about the potential use of these missiles, the range of which exceeds 1,600 km. In Zelensky's opinion, Tomahawk can change the course of the war and force Putin to sit down at the negotiating table. Journalists noted that Trump did not give up this "trump card" even during a telephone conversation with Putin on October 16.

"I actually said, 'Do you mind if I give your opposition a couple of thousand Tomahawks?' The authors of the article added that one of the unnamed officials of the Trump administration attributed this to the need to have leverage. Another official told CNN that sending Tomahawks to Ukraine is one of the tools Trump has at his disposal in his quest to end the Russian-Ukrainian war.

We will remind, on October 17, People's Deputy Yehor Chernyaev stated that the transfer of Tomahawk to Ukraine is on hold due to a telephone conversation between the presidents of the Russian Federation and the United States. According to him, the American-Ukrainian negotiations regarding the joint production of weapons and the strengthening of the air defense of Ukraine are currently ongoing.

On October 15, The New York Times reported that the Pentagon had already developed a plan to transfer Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, and supplies could begin if Trump gave the order. Trump himself confirmed on October 14 that he would discuss weapons for Ukraine with Zelensky during a meeting in Washington on October 17, including the supply of Tomahawk missiles.