President Trump potentially supplying Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine could “end badly” for everyone, Russia’s former President Dmitry Medvedev warned Monday.
Medvedev, the Russian Security Council deputy chairman, wrote on Telegram that it is impossible to distinguish between a Tomahawk missile with a nuclear warhead and a conventional one.
Trump told reporters on Sunday that he might send Tomahawk missiles, which have a range of over 1,500 miles, to Kyiv if Russia does not end its invasion of Ukraine.
The president said aboard Air Force One that he might talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin before dispatching the missiles to Ukraine.
“I may say that the Tomahawk is an incredible weapon, very offensive weapon. And honestly, Russia does not need that,” Trump said.
Medvedev, who was Russia’s president from 2008 to 2012, signaled Russia’s response could be nuclear if Ukraine gets and fires Tomahawk missiles deep inside Russia.
“How should Russia respond? Exactly,” Medvedev said Monday.
“One can only hope that this is another empty threat…Like sending nuclear submarines closer to Russia,” Medvedev, who has previously taunted Trump, added. He was referencing Trump’s decision in August to order nuclear submarines closer to Russia in response to Medvedev’s “highly provocative statements.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will meet with Trump on Friday at the White House, adding “we will discuss a series of steps that I intend to propose.”
Zelensky wrote Monday that the main focus of the visit is “air defense and our long-range capabilities aimed at exerting pressure on Russia for the sake of peace.”
