Russia warns of escalation if US sends Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine

Tomahawk missiles can travel up to 2,500 km, making most of European Russia, including Moscow, reachable from Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reportedly warned Kremlin officials last week to “know where the bomb shelters are”, according to Reuters.

Russia conducting “in-depth analysis”

It remains unclear how the missiles would be supplied. Zelenskyy has asked the US to sell them to European countries that could then transfer them to Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters: “The question… is this: who can launch these missiles? Can only Ukrainians launch them, or do American soldiers have to do that? Who is determining the targeting of these missiles? The American side or the Ukrainians themselves?” He said the situation required “a very in-depth analysis”.

Russian officials have previously warned that any country allowing Ukraine to strike Russian territory could be targeted. Andrei Kartapolov, head of Russia’s parliamentary defence committee, told Reuters that US military specialists helping Ukraine would become targets. “And no one will protect them. Not Trump, not Kellogg, nor anyone else,” he said.

US signals support for long-range strikes

Keith Kellogg, the US special envoy to Ukraine, told Fox News on Sunday, as reported by Reuters, that Trump had indicated Kyiv should be able to conduct long-range strikes against Russia. “Use the ability to hit deep. There are no such things as sanctuaries,” Kellogg said.

However, Peskov told Reuters that supplying Tomahawks would not change the overall situation on the battlefield. “Even if this happens, there’s no panacea that can change the situation on the front for the Kyiv regime right now… And whether it’s Tomahawks or other missiles, they won’t be able to change the dynamic,” he said.

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev warned Europe of the risks of conflict with Russia, telling Reuters: Europe “simply cannot afford a war with Russia” but “the possibility of a fatal accident always exists”.