Zelensky rants to the White House about Tomahawks leak: “No confidentiality”

According to Ukrainian media reports, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Wednesday that Kiev's request for Tomahawk missiles from the US was part of his confidential victory plan.

He said this “leak” meant there was “no confidentiality” between Ukraine and its partners, indicating he would rebuke the White House.

At a meeting with media representatives from Northern European countries about North Korean soldiers on Russian territory, Zelensky also spoke about this “leakage” of Kiev's request for Tomahawk missiles.

Zelensky said the “leak” came from the media and said: “Ukraine wanted a lot of missiles like Tomahawks, etc.” He specified that this was “confidential information between Ukraine and the White House.”

He further asked what the global reaction would be if North Korean soldiers came to Ukraine, saying there had been “a lot of rhetoric” and “less strong steps” from leaders.

An anonymous government official said that Ukraine had specifically requested Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of 2,500,000 kilometers from the United States, according to TopNewsinUA.

The request for Tomahawk missiles is part of the “non-nuclear deterrence package” with Zelensky’s “victory plan,” according to the Kyiv Independent.

The Ukrainian president's “victory plan” consists of five points with three confidential parts, and the third point specifically referred to this “non-nuclear deterrence package,” part of which remains secret.

The requested Tomahawk missiles would have “more than seven times the range of the long-range missile systems called ATACMS that Ukraine received this year,” it said The New York Times.

U.S. officials told the media outlet that Ukraine “has not convincingly explained to Washington how it would use the long-range weapons,” and the Ukrainian president was reportedly surprised that President Joe Biden did not give him permission to use the long-range missiles in Russia in September.

The Tomahawk cruise missile is a weapon manufactured by Raytheon that is fired from ships, submarines and ground launchers and can hit targets up to 1,000 miles away.

The latest version of the GPS-enabled missile can change targets in flight on command and has been used by the US and British navies.

An analysis conducted by Defense Express found that Ukraine would need 1,000 Tomahawk missiles with 450 kg warheads to successfully establish a non-nuclear strategic deterrent to Russia and that this would cost $4.25 billion.

So far only two countries, Japan and Australia, have received permission to purchase the missiles.

During the meeting with Nordic media representatives, Zelensky also spoke about the upcoming US presidential election and how its results could affect US-Ukraine relations, particularly regarding support for the war.

He said: “By and large the policy has not changed in all this time. Republicans and Democrats were mostly on our side. I think it is also always based on the character, emotions and opinion of society, Americans, ordinary people.”

Zelensky continued: “I think most Americans are on our side because they understand that we defend our common values. It is not the war in Ukraine, between Russia and Ukraine; “This is really an attack on our common values, an attack from Russia.” Yes, and they want to destroy all of this – democracy, freedom, people, all our rights.”

Update 10/30/24 12:55 PM ET: This story has been updated to include additional information.