Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that Ukraine would nominate President Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize if he provides the country with Tomahawk missiles, a step that would mark a significant escalation of the proxy war and risk a major response from Russia.
Zelensky told reporters that he and Trump discussed the possibility of the US supplying Ukraine with Tomahawks, which are nuclear-capable and have a range of over 1,000 miles, during their recent meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
“During our most recent meeting, I didn’t hear a ‘no.’ What I did hear was that work will continue at the technical level and that this possibility will be considered,” Zelensky said, according to POLITICO.
“The plan for ending the war won’t be easy, but it is certainly the way forward. And if Trump gives the world — above all, the Ukrainian people — the chance for such a ceasefire, then yes, he should be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. We will nominate him on behalf of Ukraine,” he added.
Vice President JD Vance recently confirmed that the Trump administration is considering supplying Ukraine with Tomahawks by selling them to European countries, though it remains unclear if it’s a realistic option since the Ukrainian military lacks a way to fire them. Tomahawks are designed to be fired by US Navy warships and submarines, and the US has only recently developed and deployed ground-based launchers after withdrawing from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 2019.
Russia has issued strong warnings against the US supplying Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles, saying that it will be detrimental to US-Russia relations.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that if the US sends Tomahawks to Ukraine, it will “not just send the confrontation into a downward spiral, but also do irreparable damage to Russian-US relations, which have just begun to display certain elements indicating the resumption of a bilateral dialogue.”
