On November 23, the US administration is said to be considering a bold move in peace negotiations: Transferring Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine. The move is being seen as part of "security guarantees" if a peace deal is reached.
US officials close to the negotiations revealed to the US media that the Trump administration has recognized a major loophole in the current peace plan: Security guarantees for Ukraine are not reliable enough. To overcome this and convince Kiev to sit at the negotiations table, Washington is recalculating the terms.
Trump may consider increasing the maximum allowable limit for the size of the Ukrainian military, or even completely eliminate this limit, contrary to previous rumors of a 50% reduction in the military.
More importantly, to enhance post-conflict deterrence, officials are seriously considering the supply of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine if a peace deal is signed.
The transfer of this powerful long-range missile is considered an alternative to the deployment of European military forces in Ukraine.
Previously, the plan to send European troops to peacekeeping faced fierce opposition from Russia. Therefore, the provision of Tomahawk missiles is considered a trade-off: Helping Ukraine have strong self-defense capabilities without the presence of foreign soldiers.
The US believes the risks of this can be controlled. US officials said Kiev would not use these missiles to strike Russia's headline, as it understood that doing so would mean losing all support from the US and Europe.
The above information seems to mark a significant change in Mr. Trump's stance. Earlier this month, he had publicly denied the possibility of supplying Tomahawk to Kiev. However, new developments suggest that this could be a strategic card issued by Washington at the last minute to complete the negotiation picture.
