Ukraine still has not received Tomahawk missiles, Zelenskyy’s office explains
An adviser to the President’s Office pointed to the problem of insufficient Western weapons.
Tomahawk / © Getty Images / © Getty Images
Against a backdrop of Western media reports that the US administration is reportedly planning to supply Ukraine with Tomahawk cruise missiles, the Office of the President expressed frustration at the pace of military aid.
Adviser to the Head of the Office of the President Mykhailo Podolyak said this in an interview with 24 Kanal.
He criticised the West for sluggishness and for delaying decisions on providing Ukraine with the weapons it needs. According to him, instead of quickly equipping the Armed Forces of Ukraine to counter Russia, allies “resort to bureaucratic discussions.”
Commenting on rumours in Western media about a possible transfer of Tomahawk cruise missiles, Podolyak emphasised that a decisive result on the front will come only when the West stops prolonged discussions about timing and quantities of deliveries and begins to act promptly.
The problem of delay
According to the presidential adviser, the delays have allowed Russia to recover. In 2022–2023 Russia felt “suppressed,” whereas today it is behaving “brazenly.” This, he said, is a direct consequence of the West saying “yes” to certain types of weapons but repeatedly postponing their delivery and limiting quantities.
Podolyak gave the example that transferring 20–40 tanks or 20 F‑16 jets against 200 Russian Su and MiG aircraft creates a significant disproportion. He also noted that effective Western weapons are being provided in insufficient numbers, which is “wrong.”
“Ukraine will do what is necessary — our problem is that we are fighting a hugely resource-rich country that is being helped by another resource state, China, and is directly assisted on the battlefield by another rogue actor — North Korea. If we were fighting a country with comparable resources, the outcome would have been clear long ago,” Podolyak said.
The situation should be the opposite: if Ukraine and the West agree on the transfer of missiles, for example Tomahawk or TAURUS, that equipment should appear on the battlefield tomorrow. And media reports about such agreements should only emerge a month later — after the weapons have proven their effectiveness at the front.