New York [US]/ Moscow [Russia], October 2 : The United States will provide Ukraine with intelligence to launch missile strikes against Russian energy infrastructure, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, citing sources.
Trump has approved sharing targeting data with Ukrainians as the administration weighs sending powerful weapons, the news outlet reported on Wednesday (local time).
The intelligence-sharing agreement allows the Pentagon and US intel agencies to help Kyiv target oil refineries, pipelines and other infrastructure that provide the Kremlin with revenues and resources needed to sustain its bloody war against Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal said.
American officials have asked NATO allies to provide Kiev with similar support, according to sources. The US is also considering the possibility to send Tomahawk cruise missiles and Barracuda munitions to Ukraine, though a decision on their delivery has not yet been made.
Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said on October 1 that Moscow will find a response if the United States decides to supply the Kiev government with Tomahawk cruise missiles, TASS reported
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier this week that the issue of possible US Tomahawk cruise missiles for Ukraine is not yet final, adding that the Kremlin is confident that even if Tomahawks are deployed in Ukraine, they will not change the military situation, Russian state media reported.
According to a report in the New York Post, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked Trump during a closed-door meeting last week to sell Kyiv Tomahawk missiles, sources told the news outlet - with reports noting that the commander in chief appeared amenable to the request.
Tomahawk missiles have a range of up to 1,500 miles, putting even Moscow easily within Ukraine's reach.
Last week, Trump described Russia as a "paper tiger" based on new US intelligence that shows the Kremlin is spiraling toward economic ruin and battlefield defeat as a result of its invasion of Ukraine.
The president, for the first time, even expressed his belief that the Ukrainian military could "win all of Ukraine back in its original form," the New York Post reported.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor