Putin Ally Issues New Warning to Donald Trump—’Fatal Mistake’

Nikolay Azarov, Ukraine’s former prime minister who fled to Russia in 2014, has issued a sharp warning to U.S. President Donald Trump, cautioning him against a move that could escalate tensions with Moscow. Speaking in an interview published by Russia’s state-run TASS news agency, Azarov said, “Dear Mr. Trump, you’re making a fatal mistake right now. It’s not about the damage the Tomahawks will cause to Russia. Of course, there will be damage. But this decision turns you from a potential peace mediator into someone siding with your enemies.”

Azarov, who claims to have received political asylum in Russia at Vladimir Putin’s request, made these remarks as Washington considers whether to provide Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine. The idea was reportedly discussed after Kyiv requested the long-range weapons to strengthen its defenses amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, which began in February 2022.

In September, U.S. Vice President JD Vance confirmed that the Trump administration was reviewing Kyiv’s request. Speaking to Fox News, Vance said, “We’re certainly looking at a number of requests from the Europeans. It’s something the president will make the final determination on.”

Moscow, meanwhile, fears that such a decision could allow Ukraine to strike deeper into Russian territory, threatening its energy and military infrastructure. Russian officials have repeatedly warned that supplying long-range missiles to Kyiv would cross a red line.

President Trump has been vocal about finding a “lasting resolution” to the conflict. Initially, he pushed for territorial concessions and even floated the idea of swaps between Russia and Ukraine. But in a recent Truth Social post, Trump took a surprisingly different tone, suggesting that Ukraine, with strong European Union support, “is now in a position to fight and win back all of its original territory.”

This shift came shortly after Trump’s reported meeting with Vladimir Putin at a U.S. military base in Alaska. Notably, Russia’s former president and current Security Council deputy chairman Dmitry Medvedev mocked Trump’s statements, saying he had “slipped into an alternate reality” after his talks with Ukrainian and French leaders.

In another Truth Social post, Trump wrote that Russia’s prolonged campaign in Ukraine makes it look like “a paper tiger,” claiming Moscow’s economy is suffering under the weight of war expenses.

Despite the rhetoric, the Trump administration has not yet made a final decision on supplying Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. According to Pentagon documents reviewed by Reuters, the U.S. Navy currently owns nearly 9,000 of these missiles, each costing about $1.3 million.

For now, both Washington and Moscow remain on edge as the world watches how Trump’s next move could reshape the future of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.