Experts on Moldova 1 TV : US weapons – hope for Kiev, challenge for Moscow
Analysts believe that supplying weapons to Ukraine could alter the dynamics of the war and prompt the parties involved to start negotiations. This perspective is influenced by a shift in the stance of the United States, which has encouraged Canada and Europe to strongly support the PURL program—an American initiative designed to facilitate the rapid delivery of equipment and military assistance to Kyiv.
Analyzing the behavior of US leader Donald Trump in relations with the Russian Federation, international relations expert Grigore Guzun notes that he resorts to tactical pressure to mask failures, which underlines his unpredictability in peace negotiations.
"We do not know if after the meeting with Zelensky, he will officially announce that he will deliver Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, the balance of power may change. It is economic pressure for Russia. It will have to intensify its anti-missile production, an air missile for the S 400 Complex costs around a million. It is economic and logistical pressure", Grigore Guzun declared in the show IN CONTEXT.
The Teleradio-Moldova correspondent in Brussels, Dan Alexe, confirmed that "Tomahawk missiles are a means of pressure on the Kremlin", because "Trump was extremely unpleasantly surprised by the fact that he did not get anything from Putin after the meeting in Alaska" and "let's not forget that we are referring to the anger of a man who holds all the reins of power".
Evaluating the impact of the Russian invasion on the European security architecture, Alexe emphasizes that Putin's actions have transformed the NATO threat into expansion.
“It is the total failure of Putin’s and the Kremlin’s diplomacy, if we remember the reason given for invading Ukraine, namely that NATO would get too close to Russia, that Ukraine must be stopped from getting closer to NATO and the European Union. If Putin wanted NATO to move away from its borders, he achieved something else – in the last two years, Finland and Sweden have joined NATO. This step has meant that NATO now has another 1,300 km to the border with Russia,” explained the Teleradio-Moldova correspondent.
Referring to transatlantic cohesion, Alexe notes how Russian aggression has catalyzed unprecedented solidarity in the West. “Putin’s actions in the war in Ukraine have led to greater unity in the West,” accelerating the harmonization of security policies and countering hybrid threats.
"It has also managed to give the European Union greater coherence, even at the strategic and military level. Just today, the European Commission presented its plan to consolidate and unify a European defense strategy, so that Europe can face a war," the journalist concluded.
The war launched by Russia has been going on for more than three years, and Ukraine has been subjected to intense attacks on energy and civilian infrastructure, especially with drones and missiles. There are political debates in both the US and Europe about how to balance support for Ukraine with the risks of an escalation of the conflict. At the same time, Kiev has repeatedly requested the delivery of US Tomahawk cruise missiles - part of a strategy to put pressure on Russia to accept peace negotiations. At the same time, the delivery of long-range weapons risks being perceived by Russia as direct aggression and could lead to military responses.
Following Trump's meeting with Zelensky on October 17, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is ready to host the Trump-Putin meeting in Budapest. Following the phone call on the evening of October 16 between the US and Russian presidents, Trump confirmed that he intends to meet with the Kremlin leader next week.
