The US could trigger a nuclear war by sending the missiles to Ukraine, the Belarusian president has warned
The US won’t solve the Ukraine conflict by sending Tomahawk missiles to Kiev, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said, warning that such a move would only escalate tensions.
Last month, American officials suggested Washington could be open to sending Tomahawks to Ukraine, although US President Donald Trump has stressed that no final decision has yet been made on the issue.
Tomahawk missiles cost about $1.3 million each and have a range of around 2,500 kilometers, allowing Ukraine, in theory, to strike targets deep inside Russian territory, including Moscow and beyond.
Speaking in Minsk on Tuesday, Lukashenko stressed that arming Kiev with these missiles would not resolve the conflict but could “escalate the situation into a nuclear war.”
He added that Trump “understands this better than anyone” and suggested the US president is in “no hurry” to hand over such lethal weapons or authorize strikes deep into Russia, as requested by Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that potential Tomahawk deliveries would force Moscow to strengthen its air defenses and deal a major blow to US–Russia relations. He also stressed that the missiles would not change the balance of power on the battlefield.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has echoed the concern, arguing that Kiev cannot be trusted to handle the weapons responsibly. Kremlin officials have repeatedly accused Ukraine of misusing Western-supplied weapons for deliberate strikes on civilians.
Trump told reporters on Sunday that while Ukraine “would like to have Tomahawks,” sending them would be “a new step of aggression” toward Russia. He added that he might raise the issue with Putin and tell him that “if this war is not going to get settled, I’m going to send [Ukraine] Tomahawks.”
Several news outlets have noted that it is unlikely the US would actually deliver the Tomahawks, as its current inventories are already committed to the Navy and other uses. One analyst told the Financial Times that Washington will likely only be able to provide between 20 and 50 missiles, which would have a negligible impact on the battlefield.
