Moscow is ramping up a public relations campaign aimed at preventing the U.S. from shipping Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine that would be able to strike targets deep within Russian territory, analysts with a Washington-based think tank said this week.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that a decision by the Trump administration to send Tomahawk missiles to Kyiv would amount to a “serious escalation” that wouldn’t change the situation on the frontline in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that U.S. military personnel would have to directly participate in any Ukrainian Tomahawk strikes, leading to the destruction of the “emerging positive trend” in U.S.-Russian relations, according to a report by the Institute for the Study of War.
“ISW continues to assess that the Kremlin is attempting to portray potential U.S. Tomahawk deliveries to Ukraine as a dangerous escalation to deter the United States from sending such weapons to Ukraine,” think tank officials said.
The BGM-109 Tomahawk Land Attack Missile is a U.S.-built long-range, all-weather, jet-powered subsonic cruise missile used by the U.S. Navy and allies like the United Kingdom and Australia. The range varies, with some versions capable of striking targets about 1,500 miles away from the launch site.
Other Kremlin officials are echoing Mr. Putin’s threats, including Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev, who claimed Tuesday that Ukraine would use Tomahawk missiles to strike targets in Paris, Berlin, and Warsaw.
Russian lawmakers similarly warned that Moscow would be forced to launch a preemptive strike against Ukraine and that “not only Ukraine would suffer” if the Tomahawk deal went through, the ISW analysts said.
“The Kremlin has previously conducted similar influence operations when the United States was discussing sending Ukraine Army Tactical Missile Systems [ATACMS], High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems [HIMARS], F-16 fighter jets, and Abrams tanks, and has routinely successfully delayed the provision of Western weapons to Ukraine,” the ISW analysts said.
Ukrainian strikes using U.S.-provided long-range weapons systems have not triggered escalatory Russian reactions despite violating the Kremlin’s alleged “red lines” in the past, the ISW said.
“These recent Russian threats about Tomahawk missile provisions are part of Russia’s wider reflexive control campaign that aims to coerce Russia’s opponents to make policy decisions that actually benefit Russia,” the ISW said.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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