Ukraine in ‘positive’ talks with US on missiles, ambassador says
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Ukraine’s latest push is for Tomahawks and other long-range missiles from the US that would allow it to hit targets deep within Russian territory.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON – Ukraine’s Ambassador to the US, Ms Olha Stefanishyna, said her country is engaged in “positive” talks about buying Tomahawk missiles and other long-range weaponry, even after US President Donald Trump signalled he did not want to send them to the country.
“The discussion is still ongoing but we have a lot of delegations working to scale up the available financial resources to procure more military capabilities from the US,” Ms Stefanishyna said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.
“It is not only Tomahawks but also different types of other long-range and short-range missiles, and I can only say that it’s rather positive,” she said.
Ms Stefanishyna, a former lawyer who oversaw Ukraine’s push to boost European and Euro-Atlantic integration, became Ukraine’s ambassador in Washington a little more than two months ago.
One of her top tasks was to ease strains with Mr Trump, who has sometimes been critical of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and once called him a “dictator”.
Mr Zelensky has managed to improve ties in the months since a disastrous meeting in the Oval Office
In a sign of Mr Trump’s growing displeasure with Russia, the US President imposed sanctions in October on two oil majors
Mr Zelensky’s latest push is for Tomahawks and other long-range missiles that would allow it to hit targets deep within Russian territory.
But Mr Trump has said Tomahawks can be effective only if the US fires them, and it is not going to do so.
Asked about repeated Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in recent weeks, Ms Stefanishyna said that “it’s definitely a very tough period for Ukraine”.
“We’re working hard to provide more air defence capabilities to Ukraine,” she said. “We can survive this winter and another winter, but it does not mean that it is right.”
She said any refusal to put pressure on Russia will be seen as “something that gives them the green light to scale up their capabilities”. BLOOMBERG
