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The Ukrainian leader doesn\u2019t believe \u201cPutin is ready just to finish this war,\u201d as he told NBC\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press\u201d | Demetrius Freeman\/The Washington Post via Getty Images<\/p>\nThe Ukrainian leader doesn\u2019t believe \u201cPutin is ready just to finish this war,\u201d as he told NBC\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press\u201d | Demetrius Freeman\/The Washington Post via Getty Images<\/p>\n
But Ukraine ignored the counsel of its Republican friends in Washington \u2014 many of whom are skeptical Trump will agree to give Ukraine Tomahawks under any circumstances, for fear of escalation and drawing the U.S. deeper into the war. That\u2019s not even considering the Pentagon\u2019s worries about the U.S.\u2019s own stockpiles, which Trump himself mentioned to reporters on Friday.<\/p>\n
By failing to drop the Tomahawk request, Ukraine squandered an opportunity to focus on a slew of other crucial items \u2014 foremost among them, air-to-air missiles for their F-16 and MiG warplanes and surface-to-air interceptor missiles for Patriot air-defense systems. Both are needed to shoot down drones and ballistic missiles, and Ukraine is desperately short of them because of the record airstrikes Russia is now mounting.<\/p>\n
The focus on Tomahawks also distracted from other key asks, such as getting Trump\u2019s approval for the use of immobilized Russian sovereign assets to fund Ukraine\u2019s defense.<\/p>\n
For his part, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is in favor <\/a>of this proposal. The U.S. only holds $7 billion in Russian assets, but the EU\u2019s big three in the G7 \u2014 Germany, France and Italy \u2014 want Japan and America actively involved<\/a>, as they worry that tapping into the \u20ac140 billion in Russian assets held in Europe could undermine the euro\u2019s global credibility. If Washington and Tokyo were to take similar action, their fears would be allayed.<\/p>\n