 "Sailors aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Preble (DDG 88) conduct an operational Tomahawk missile launch in a training area off the coast of California in this September 29, 2010, file photograph and released to Reuters on March 19, 2011. (Photo: Woody Paschall/US Navy photo/Handout/Reuters)")
Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has said that US President Donald Trump should have approved the transfer of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine in last week’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In an interview with Politico, Orpo said Russia poses a “permanent threat” to European security and urged Washington to send the weapons to Ukraine so it can strike Russia deep inside and bring President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.
“Putin believes only in power. If we want to stop the war we have to be on the same level or even stronger than Russia,” the Finnish PM said.
When asked whether Trump should give the weapons to Zelenskyy, Orpo said, “I really hope that they can get the capabilities that they need to [counter]strike Russia and defend themselves. We know that this is a question between Zelenskyy and the United States and I really hope they can find a solution.”
‘Weakens diplomacy’
The Finnish leader’s comments come after Zelenskyy said that Trump’s refusal to supply long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to the country has derailed the path of diplomacy , claiming that Russia is no longer interested in talks to end the war.
“The front line can spark diplomacy. Instead, Russia continues to do everything to weasel out of diplomacy, and as soon as the issue of long-range capabilities for us — for Ukraine — became less immediate, Russia’s interest in diplomacy faded almost automatically,” Zelenskyy said on Tuesday.
Zelenskyy was banking on Trump’s approval for the long-range missiles. However, the US president said, “It’s not easy for us to give … you’re talking about massive numbers of very powerful weapons. So, that’s one of the things we’ll be talking about hopefully, they won’t need it, hopefully, we’ll be able to get the war over with, without thinking about Tomahawks.”
EU imposes new sanctions on Russia
The EU on Wednesday agreed to impose new sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine aimed at crimping Moscow’s oil and gas revenues, said Denmark, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency.
The package – the 19th from the EU since the Kremlin’s 2022 invasion – comes as Europe seeks to keep the pressure on Russia in the face of US President Donald Trump’s faltering peace push.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsKremlin-friendly Slovakia had held up adoption of the package over a separate issue as it sought protections for its car industry from EU climate legislation.
As part of the new measures, the 27-nation bloc is bringing forward a ban on the import of liquefied natural gas from Russia by a year to the start of 2027.
With inputs from agencies