Russia mocks Trump over Ukraine Tomahawk U-turn shambles - 'all talk, no action!'

Russia has openly ridiculed Donald Trump’s negotiating prowess after talks over supplying Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles collapsed.

The controversy centers on a White House meeting last Friday between Mr. Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky, during which U.S. plans to provide Tomahawks missiles with an estimated range of about 2,500 km (1,550 miles) capable of reaching deep into Russian territory, including Moscow were discussed. Trump had earlier suggested he might impose sanctions on any sale of the weapons, telling reporters in the run-up to the summit: “We may not, but we may do it… Do they (Russians) want to have Tomahawks going in their direction? I don’t think so.” Kyiv argues the missiles would allow it to better target Russian energy infrastructure and disrupt supplies to Putin’s forces.

The Kremlin reacted strongly. In a sign of Moscow’s alarm, President Putin warned Trump that delivering the missiles would wreck U.S.-Russia relations. After a phone call with Putin on the Thursday before Zelensky’s visit, Trump appeared to back away from the idea of supplying Tomahawks and instead announced plans for another meeting with the Russian leader in Budapest.

Zelensky left the White House reportedly empty-handed on Friday amid accounts of a heated row. The apparent failure of the Tomahawk discussions was quickly seized on by the Kremlin, which mocked the U.S. approach.

State television trotted out its most vocal critic of the White House, Vladimir Solovyov, who launched a withering attack on Trump’s strategy. Adopting a tone of disbelief, Solovyov told guests in the studio that genuine negotiating strength comes from action, not talk.

“You strengthen your position by first deploying weapons,” he said. “You provide the arms, you build the position, you assert how things will be. Then you tell your opponent, ‘If you want to talk…’”

Solovyov quoted Trump’s apparent line that he was “considering” sending Tomahawks but wanted to speak with Putin first and said it weakened, rather than bolstered, America’s stance. “A position is strong when the enemy can say, ‘They’ve delivered the missiles there they are and if anything happens, we’ll hit you,’” he argued. “War is decided by deeds, not words. Until you have deployed them and shown them, it’s all empty talk.”