KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed Wednesday that he asked the United States for Tomahawk long-range missiles to help defeat Russia — and slammed the White House for leaking secrets to the American media.
The Tomahawks can fly up to 1,500 kilometers and would allow Ukraine to strike targets deep inside Russia if permitted by the U.S., which is a key part of Kyiv’s so-called Victory Plan for beating back Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Zelenskyy, though, was displeased with information about the Tomahawk request being divulged to The New York Times for a story in which an anonymous senior U.S. official described the Ukrainian request as totally unfeasible.
“And this was confidential information between Ukraine and the White House. How should we understand these messages? So, it means between partners there’s nothing confidential?” Zelenskyy said during an interview with Nordic media outlets published Wednesday.
In the story, The New York Times noted senior U.S. officials did not think Ukrainian leadership had made a convincing case for how they would use the long-range missiles to turn the tide on the battlefield.
The target list that Ukraine presented the U.S. with far exceeded the number of missiles the American military can spare for Kyiv without jeopardizing potential requirements for the Middle East and Asia, the anonymous officials added in the story.
Senior Kyiv officials beyond Zelenskyy were also puzzled by the information leaking in a negative light.
“We know the plan is realistic. U.S. own military studied it and said it is realistic,” a Ukrainian official familiar with the matter told POLITICO when granted anonymity to be able to speak about a sensitive foreign policy issue.
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