Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he asked President Donald Trump for a mysterious, long-range weapon that could target the Kremlin in Moscow.
Zelensky shared in an interview with Axios that he personally asked Trump for an unnamed long-range weapon that he believed would bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table. He said that Ukraine would not target civilians, but that centers of power such as the Kremlin were now fair targets.
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“They have to know where the bomb shelters are,” Zelensky said of Kremlin officials. “They need it. If they will not stop the war, they will need it in any case.”
“They have to know that we in Ukraine, each day, we will answer. If they attack us, we will answer them,” he added.
Trump answered ambiguously, Zelensky said, telling him, “We will work on it.”
Zelensky would not name the mysterious wonder weapon but was likely referring to the AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile—Extended Range, or JASSM-ER, the only U.S. missile that could reach Moscow from Ukraine, given Kyiv’s launching platforms. Even in this case, the missile is too large for the F-16, requiring F-35s or F-15E jets, neither of which Ukraine has.
The better-known Tomahawk cruise missiles could reach Moscow from Ukraine, but can only be fired from naval platforms. Ukraine’s Navy was effectively destroyed in the opening hours of the Feb. 24, 2022, Russian invasion.
The move carries significant risks. Russia has so far refrained from major strikes on the Ukrainian centers of power. Earlier this month, a single Russian drone struck an office in the Ukrainian Cabinet building in Kyiv during one of the war’s largest airstrikes. Though Zelensky suggested that this was a targeted attack on a decision-making center that made targeting Russian government centers fair game, the limited damage suggested the impact was due to the drone being intercepted or downed by electronic warfare. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko suggested it was an accident directly after the attack.
If Ukraine were to strike government buildings in Russia, Moscow would be sure to retaliate in earnest. However, Zelensky said that Ukraine may not have to use the weapon. Its mere presence in Ukraine’s arsenal would be enough to force Russia to the negotiating table.
“President Trump knows, I [told] him yesterday what we need, one thing,” Zelensky told Axios.
“We need it, but it doesn’t mean that we will use it,” he added. “Because if we’ll have it, I think it’s additional pressure on Putin to sit and speak.”
Zelensky has previously pitched several Western weapons as war-winning since the war began, including F-16 fighter jets, long-range ATACMS missiles, and Western main battle tanks such as the U.S. Abrams tank.
Trump made his biggest reversal yet on the war in Ukraine on Tuesday after a meeting with Zelensky, saying that he was now convinced Ukraine could defeat Russia and retake its 1991 borders, including Crimea.
The announcement came as a shock to many. Most analysts had written off the possibility that Ukraine could restore its 1991 borders after Kyiv’s failed counteroffensive in the summer of 2023. Even Kyiv ceased presenting this as its ultimate goal in 2024. Most pro-Ukrainian analysts have settled on freezing the current front line as the most realistic and beneficial outcome for Ukraine.
TRUMP’S UKRAINE TERRITORY REVERSAL: WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Ukraine has been on the back foot for nearly two years, incurring significant battlefield losses and steadily losing territory. Russia has emerged dominant in the drone war, outproducing and out-innovating Ukrainian manufacturers with Chinese and Iranian assistance. Tactical innovations from the Kremlin, such as combined arms attacks with small infantry squads, first-person view drones, and airstrikes, have ground down Ukraine’s defensive positions in the Donbas, threatening a major breakthrough.
Ukraine’s manpower problems and Russian military improvements have prevented Ukraine from carrying out any major offensive moves since its summer offensive into Kursk last year.