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President Donald Trump publicly ruled out the idea of providing Ukraine with Tomahawk cruise missiles to combat Russian attacks, claiming the missiles were too complex to use without substantial training by the U.S.
“The problem with the Tomahawk is – a lot of people don’t know – It’ll take a minimum of six months, usually a year, to learn how to use,” Trump told reporters during an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Wednesday (October 22) via the New York Post.
“The only way a Tomahawk is going to be shot is if we shot it,” he added. “And we’re not going to do that.”
Trump then claimed there was a "tremendous learning curve" in regard to the "highly complex" weapons and suggested that he would want U.S. military officials to train other countries on how to effectively fire the "very accurate" weapons.
“It takes a year of intense training to learn how to use it, and we know how to use it, and we’re not going to be teaching other people," he claimed.
Russia reportedly launched overnight airstrikes killing at least six people in Ukraine hours after the cancelation of Trump's scheduled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, NBC News reported on Wednesday. The attacks targeted Kyiv and other cities, according to Ukrainian officials, who claimed they were the latest example of Putin not actually being ready for peace and, instead, wanting to use negotiations to extend the yearslong war.
“Another night proving that Russia does not feel enough pressure for dragging out the war,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a post, calling on Western allies to supply his country with long-range missiles capable of striking deeper into Russia, claiming Kyiv lacked such capabilities while being emboldened by the Kremlin's attacks.
Two children were reported to be among the casualties, according to Zelenskyy. At least 13 people were killed and dozens more injured in attacks orchestrated by Russia in Ukraine during a 24-hour span, local officials confirmed.