Meeting with Selensky Will Trump surprise the world again at the missile summit?

Volodymyr Zelenskyi will probably meet Donald Trump at the White House on Friday. They are also expected to discuss the delivery of Tomahawks. While a US media outlet reports that Kiev will receive a maximum of 50 missiles, Russia's propaganda does not want to believe that they are coming.

Will the Tomahawks come, or will they not?

The potential delivery of the American cruise missiles is likely to be on the agenda at the upcoming summit between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian president has confirmed the meeting, which could take place on October 17.

Tomahawks for KievIs Trump really hurting Putin for the first time?

The 47-year-old is traveling to Washington with a high-ranking delegation - and will, according to his own statement, also meet with representatives of the arms industry. "The visit will focus on air defense and our long-range capabilities, which we can use to exert pressure on Russia for the sake of peace," writes Selenskyj.

Russian propaganda "can't believe it"

Trump had previously said that he wanted to discuss the Tomahawk issue with Vladimir Putin first. At the same time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov emphasized that US specialists would have to help with target programming in order to deploy the missiles. Moscow interprets this to mean that Trump does not want to deliver the Tomahawks at all.

At least according to the TV show "60 Minut" on the state broadcaster "Rossija 1". "I can't believe it. It's hard to understand," said Duma deputy Alexei Zhuravlyov from the nationalist Rodina party, referring to Trump's announcement.

Presenter Olga Skabeyeva explains that Putin will object - and his US counterpart will then simply forego the delivery. "Yes, he will say: 'Putin did not agree. What did you expect? I discussed it with him'," Shuravlyov finishes the thought and laughs: "For me, that's absurd."

Only 20 to 50 tomahawks for Kiev?

But there are also other interpretations of Trump's words. "Trump warns Russia he could send Ukraine long-range Tomahawks if Moscow doesn't settle the war soon", headlines AP. The Financial Times (FT), on the other hand, claims to have learned that Zelenskyi could receive "only 20 to 50" missiles.

At least that is what Stacey Pettijohn from the Washington think tank Center for a New American Security says. Such a small quantity would "not significantly affect the dynamics of combat operations and the situation on the battlefield", explains the expert. According to the FT, the USA has a total of 4150 Tomahawks.

Glen Howard, President of the US think tank Saratoga Foundation, takes the same line. "I believe that Trump is using his recent actions in Gaza to intensify a campaign of 'maximum pressure' against Russia," the Russia expert tells the Kyiv Post, which also reports that the White House also wants to increase pressure on the Europeans.

"Increase pressure on Germany"

"If the US supplies Ukraine with Tomahawks, this would undoubtedly increase the pressure on Germany, which has so far resisted supplying the Taurus despite considerable speculation," says Glen Howard, predicting that if the Tomahawk were to arrive, it could be the "kiss of death" for Russia's refineries.

And Russia's refineries are on fire. In the case of the plant in Feodosiya in Crimea, even two days after a Ukrainian drone attack. The peninsula has the worst fuel shortage: drivers there are only allowed to fill up with a maximum of 20 liters.

According to the BBC, there is now a shortage of fuel in 57 Russian regions. In addition to the occupied territories, the Far East is the hardest hit, while regions such as Moscow and St. Petersburg have so far "only" had to worry about rising prices. 21 of the 38 largest refineries have been attacked this year.

What about the flamingo?

Tomahawks could also be used to target those refineries that are still out of reach. But what about Kiev's own cruise missile? The Flamingo was first presented with much fanfare, but so far the new missile has hardly been used.

If the manufacturer's earlier statements are to be trusted, Kiev should already have dozens of Flamingos in its arsenal. In principle, there are three possibilities: The whole thing was either a PR stunt, there are still technical problems, or the Ukrainian armed forces are still saving up deployments of the new weapon.

Because the Flamingo is relatively large and easy to locate, Kiev could actually be relying on the missile rising in a swarm to overwhelm the Russian air defenses. If there is any truth to this, the coming weeks will show.