Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that supplying US Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine would lead to a “whole new level of escalation”, including in relations between Moscow and Washington. Speaking at a forum in Sochi, Putin said it would not change the situation on the battlefield, where the Russian army is making slow but steady advances.
The Trump administration’s desire to send Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine may not be viable because current inventories are committed to the US navy and other uses, Reuters reported a US official and three sources as saying. The US may look into allowing European allies to buy other long-range weapons and supply them to Ukraine but Tomahawks were unlikely, the official said, questioning the feasibility of providing the cruise missiles with a range of 2,500km (1,550 miles) and suggesting other shorter-distance options could be supplied to Kyiv.
The US will provide Ukraine with intelligence on long-range energy infrastructure targets deep inside Russia, according to several media reports, a move that would signal a significant shift in White House support for Kyiv. Dan Sabbagh and Andrew Roth report that the decision would be the first example of a change in policy by Donald Trump since his comments on social media towards the end of September that Ukraine could win back all of the territory occupied by Russia.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned Europe that recent drone incursions show Russia is looking to “escalate” its aggression, saying Moscow aims to “break the west and Europe”. The Ukrainian president’s warning came at a summit of 45 European leaders in Copenhagen after mystery drone sightings in Denmark and high-profile aerial incursions by Moscow in Estonia and Poland heightened fears that Russia’s war on Ukraine could spill over Europe’s borders. He said Kyiv was ready to share Ukraine’s war-honed expertise to help counter the threat.
Vladimir Putin vowed to quickly retaliate against Europe’s “escalating militarisation” while dismissing western fears that Moscow plans to attack Nato as “nonsense”. The Russian president said in Sochi: “We are closely monitoring the escalating militarisation of Europe … We simply cannot ignore what is happening. We have no right to do so for reasons of our own security.” He added: “I think no one doubts that Russia’s countermeasures will not be long in coming.”
Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war on Thursday. Zelenskyy said 185 military personnel – most of whom had been in Russian captivity since 2022 – and 20 civilians were returned home. Russia’s defence ministry said 185 of its soldiers and 20 civilians returned. Since the war began, more than 7,000 Ukrainians had returned, Zelenskyy said on Telegram.
