Zelensky is heading to the US this week- My suspicion, of course I could be mistaken, is the two will sit together at the White House, like besties and the deployment of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine will be announced. Keep in mind Tomahawks can carry a nuclear payload that cannot be discerned by Russia. This is a problem.
US corporate interests are paramount- Russia’s Ukraine war is bad for business
Speaking at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, Dombrovskis said that in 2023 U.S.-owned assets in Europe were worth an estimated $19.2 trillion, or roughly 64% of all U.S. corporate foreign assets globally. Sales by the European affiliates of U.S. companies were $3.9 trillion.
“For U.S. corporate interests, Europe – as a market, a host of assets, and a crucial link in integrated supply chains – is simply too big to ignore,” Dombrovskis said in a speech.
As a source of deep uncertainty, they affect the bottom line. This is a crucial consideration for U.S. foreign policymakers to keep in mind,” he said.
Dombrovskis’s remarks come as the EU is trying to get the U.S. to increase pressure on Russia through more sanctions, and match the sanctions the EU has already imposed on Moscow through 18 packages of measures since February 2022. Europe’s 19th sanctions package is under preparation.
What Are Tomahawk Missiles, and Why Might Trump Give Them to Ukraine?
Ukraine could receive a newly developed land-based launcher to strike Moscow and beyond.
Mr. Trump, who will meet with Mr. Zelensky at the White House later this week, said on Tuesday that he knew the Ukrainian leader wanted the weapons.
“We have a lot of Tomahawks,” Mr. Trump added.
Because of their long range, accuracy and low cost compared to piloted warplanes, Tomahawks have long been seen as a go-to weapon in the Pentagon’s arsenal.
How far can they fly?
More than 1,000 miles.
How far is Moscow from Kyiv?
About 500 miles.
What are some of the Tomahawk’s advantages?
When in cruise mode, they can fly low to the ground, making them more difficult to spot by radar.
They also fly relatively fast: 550 miles per hour, or roughly 70 percent the speed of sound.
And perhaps most useful for Ukraine, the United States has many hundreds of them.
How could Ukraine launch them?
In 2024, the U.S. Army deployed a new land-based launcher for Tomahawks and other naval missiles called Typhon, which is essentially a standard 40-foot shipping container concealing four missile tubes that rotate upward to fire.
The Army first test-fired a Tomahawk from that launcher in 2023.
They would be the longest-range U.S. weapons given to Ukraine thus far.
Read the rest at the NYT’s link above
Hegseth expects NATO allies to purchase and donate even more American weapons
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the U.S. expects NATO allies to purchase and donate “even more” American weapons for Ukraine under a key arms initiative, as defense ministers from the alliance gathered at its headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, for a meeting on Wednesday. Speaking alongside NATO’s Secretary-General Mark Rutte as they entered the meeting, Hegseth said the purchases would be made under the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative to provide Ukraine with greater “firepower”.