Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov on Wednesday said that the momentum toward a peace deal in Ukraine following the August 15 summit between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin has been “largely exhausted” as the two sides remain very far apart on the conditions to end the war.
“Unfortunately, it must be acknowledged that the powerful impetus of Anchorage in favor of agreements has been largely exhausted by the efforts of opponents and the efforts of supporters of the war to the last Ukrainian among Europeans,” Ryabkov said.
“This is the result of destructive activity, primarily by Europeans, which we speak about openly and directly,” the Russian diplomat added.
In the wake of the Alaska summit, the US’s European allies continued to push for a deployment of European troops to Ukraine as part of a potential future detail, an arrangement Russia made clear would be a non-starter. President Trump also expressed support for the European deployment, making the chances of a deal unlikely.
As the weeks went on, Trump appeared to adopt a maximalist position on the war, saying in a post on Truth Social that he believes Ukraine, with support from Europe, could win the war and retake all of the territory Russia has captured. Now, his administration is considering providing Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles, which would mark a significant escalation of the proxy war since they have a range of over 1,000 miles.
Russian officials have been warning strongly against the US supplying Ukraine with Tomahawks, a warning Ryabkov repeated on Wednesday, saying it would be a “serious shift in the situation.” He said that he hoped “those urging Washington toward such a move realize the depth and gravity of its consequences.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also warned against the provision of the Tomahawks, saying it would have a detrimental effect on US-Russia relations, echoing recent comments from Putin.
“A corresponding decision by the US administration, if made, 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,” she said.
It’s unclear if arming Ukraine with Tomahawks is a realistic option for the US since the missiles are designed to be fired out of US warships, and only in recent years has it developed a ground-launched, mobile version of a Tomahawk launcher. Such weapons systems were prohibited by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which the US withdrew from in 2019.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the US was also considering arming Ukraine with other types of missiles that have a range of around 500 miles, including Barracudas, air-launched missiles produced by Anduril. The report also said that President Trump had signed off on the Pentagon providing Ukraine with intelligence for long-range missile strikes inside Russia.
