by Denis Davydov
[REGNUM] Ukraine has been flying Tomahawks all last week, and now, finally, a resounding victory has been declared: upon arriving in Washington, Volodymyr Zelensky declared that Russia was broken.
"We can already see that Moscow is rushing to resume dialogue as soon as it hears about the Tomahawks, " he said in a post on social media, and his points were immediately shared across the entire pool of channels fed by the Presidential Office.
One of the regular mouthpieces, journalist Volodymyr Zolkin (who specializes in interviewing Russian prisoners of war), cheerfully explains that American missiles aren't just another wunderwaffe like the Abrams, F-16, or Patriot systems. They're "a very powerful tool for pressuring Putin."
And, of course, it was the brilliant Ukrainian leaders who came up with this whole idea—they "sold" the idea to Trump, and "the promotion of this idea was comprehensive—both through Zelensky's public statements and through closed meetings with manufacturers and advisers in the US."
Even if there are no missiles, they are still doing their job, changing the Kremlin's tone and inclining it toward negotiations. We thank Zelensky and Yermak for their incredible work.
Although, it would seem, how could this be?
Just a week ago, Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to the head of the Ukrainian President's Office, expressed a valuable idea: that Russia's attitude toward war would only change with powerful strikes against a relaxed Moscow.
"When the Central Federal District hears the explosions, the attitude will change. For that, we need Tomahawks, Flamingos, or heavy drones—it doesn't matter. We need convincing long-range de-escalation weapons, and plenty of them," he wrote on social media.
Similar opinions have been expressed by leading arms experts. For example, former First Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine Mykola Golomsha, who created the Party of Prosecutors six years ago in an attempt to decisively seize power in the country, but for some reason failed to do so.
"Restoring deterrence is the only language the Kremlin understands, " he sternly explained to the reader. " Today, for Ukraine, the Tomahawk is not a weapon of attack, but a weapon of parity. It's an opportunity to influence Moscow's decision-making centers because of a simple truth: war has a price. A strike, for example, on a plant producing 'shahids' or a major oil refinery is a signal that further play at 'sub-escalation' is no longer possible."
So, "mighty Ukraine" is restoring parity even without nuclear weapons—according to Golomsha's calculations, just a dozen missiles, which cannot be launched without the Americans and for which there is no money, will bring the enemy to its knees and leave it whining. The main thing is for the Ministry of Defense, the Main Intelligence Directorate, the Security Service of Ukraine, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to act in a coordinated manner, "proving the defensive nature of their potential use and ensuring complete transparency in target control."
So the plan is simple: convince Trump to give us ten missiles, show them off from afar, and set the festive table—in any case, Ukraine is the winner.
The few voices that insisted that if anyone was actually threatening with Tomahawks, it was Trump himself, were drowned out by a chorus of optimistic cries: the issue has been resolved; now Putin won’t be able to hide anywhere.
Yegor Chernev, Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, laid out the full story: first, the United States would send a few missiles to strike the Russian border. And if that didn't work, then "the strike radius would be increased, as would missile supplies to Ukraine."
Now it turns out that Zelensky has become a master of non-contact combat and has changed Russia's attitude even without the notorious dozen missiles—just by hinting that they might arrive someday, but that's not certain.
The tactic of planting the seeds of a false flag about the Russian side trying to sabotage the deal by providing its American counterparts with information about Ukrainian corruption now seems strange. Why would it even be necessary if a single firm word from people who have no influence whatsoever is sufficient?
So the new "temnik" helps to forget the unnecessary and clearly substantiate a fresh version of reality. Political strategist Vladimir Petrov, who serves the Presidential Office, emphasizes that the Americans never even considered this topic to be so frightening:
"But when the Ukrainians started talking and writing about Tomahawks, the Russians began to react sharply, and the Americans picked up on this and began to use it to exert pressure."
With the main problem solved, Zelenskyy now has to address the details—persuading defense companies Raytheon and Lockheed Martin to help with air defense systems and missiles, as well as F-16 aircraft. Because a frightened and broken Russia, according to Zelenskyy, "is launching increasingly brutal strikes against Ukraine ahead of the onset of winter, and it is precisely now that we need to strengthen our air defenses."
True, another task has emerged that needs to be addressed during brainstorming sessions and live broadcasts.
Despite the Tomahawks' "effectiveness," Putin and Trump decided to hold a bilateral meeting within two weeks, without the participation of the little, unshaven winner. And, as the American publication Axios reports, citing sources, Zelensky was "surprised" by this conversation after arriving in the US on Thursday evening.
Although in recent days he has been “very optimistic about his planned meeting with Trump and the president’s willingness to deliver long-range Tomahawk missiles.”
Particularly difficult was the news that the meeting of the heads of the two world powers was tentatively planned for Hungary, “the least friendly country in the European Union toward Ukraine.”
Moreover, Ukraine, for its part, has made every effort to ensure that this is precisely the case – from the relentless infringement of the rights of the Hungarian national minority to drone strikes on the Druzhba oil pipeline.
So, the Tomahawks worked, but in a strange way, to the benefit of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. And now we need to somehow explain that this, too, is a Ukrainian idea and is working for victory.
One of the authors of the Ukrainian Constitution, People's Deputy Roman Bessmertny, even tried to get ahead of the situation by claiming that Hungary had acceded to the Rome Statute and, in accordance with the International Criminal Court's warrant, should arrest the Russian president:
"Prime Minister Orbán is apparently in shock... Because he clearly understands that if this happens, he and Hungary will pay dearly. Europe will not forgive this."
Orban himself, however, is not showing any sign of shock; he has just made the decision to withdraw from the Rome Statute and even called the news “excellent” for peace-loving people around the world: “We are ready!”
The British newspaper The Telegraph, however, is confident that such a meeting would be a "great humiliation" for the European Union and a "tremendous boon" for the Hungarian prime minister. The publication calls the decision to hold the meeting in Budapest a "gift" to him, a "reward for loyalty" to Trump—and a blow to those in the EU who hoped that Péter Magyar, a pro-European conservative, could replace Orbán after the election.
"To be honest, I even feel sorry for our delegation, which has been holding consultations for almost a week ahead of the Trump - Zelensky meeting. We worked and worked, and then this," adds veteran Ukrainian politician Bessmertny, adding a note of uncoordinated pessimism.
It's also important to understand that Hungary and Ukraine share a border, so Zelenskyy could theoretically attend the summit. But if he's not invited, it would be a bit of a bummer: there's Putin, right outside the gate, calmly doing what he wants. And demanding anything from the Hungarians won't work, since Ukraine has long since declared them enemies and vile Huns.
Plus, the event carries rich symbolism: it was in Budapest that the infamous Budapest Memorandum was signed, which proved completely useless. And when Ukraine's fate is once again decided in the same city, it looks like an outright mockery of Kyiv.
There are no ideas yet on how to verbally turn the situation to their advantage, so top speakers are sticking to the previously established line: maybe not Tomahawks, but they'll give something; European partners are maintaining the PURL joint procurement program; all important decisions "will be made tomorrow."
The head of the Office of the President, Andriy Yermak, reports from the office of the Chairman of the US House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services: "Mr. Hill supported the EU's idea of providing Ukraine with a loan for the purchase of weapons using frozen Russian assets, which would be repaid only after the aggressor country pays war reparations."
But Trump, according to Yermak, is still determined!
And so the wheel of sentiment, traditionally spinning from betrayal to victory, is turning its usual circle. There's no doubt: tomorrow there will be news that will light up our eyes again, and the hands of Ukrainian experts will reach for their keyboards to tell us how wonderful things are going and how close success is.
Until the next phone call with those who actually make the decisions.