The following editorial is written by Robert Coyle, a prolific political writer who consumes copious amounts of coffee, usually at the Waffle House, and hosts his Mad as Hell commentary, heard Wednesday mornings at 7:30, during The Freedom Wake-Up Call on Freedom1300. 

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          Citing unnamed U.S. officials, the Wall Street Journal claimed the Trump Administration had lifted a major restriction, allowing Ukraine to use Western-supplied long-range missiles.

          Less than 90 minutes after the article w as published, President Trump announced on Truth Social that it was “fake news.”

          “The Wall Street Journal article on the U.S.A.’s approval of Ukraine being allowed to use long range missiles deep into Russia is FAKE NEWS!” he wrote. “The U.S. has nothing to do with those missiles, wherever they come from, or what Ukraine does with them!”

          President Zelenskyy would like Tomahawk cruise missiles, and at one point President Trump was considering sending them to Ukraine. However, he has since withdrawn his threat. 

          The missiles to which he is referring are British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles, which are apparently being supplied to Ukraine by the United Kingdom. 

          According to published specifications, the Storm Shadow cruise missile is turbojet-powered, has a range of approximately 155 miles, and can travel at Mach 0.95 at a low altitude of 98-164 feet to avoid radar detection. 

          In contrast, the Tomahawk cruise missile has a far greater range of approximately 1,500 miles, which has the capability to strike targets deeper inside Russia. 

          Although similar to the Storm Shadow in speed and altitude, the Tomahawk cruise missile is a much more complex weapon requiring U.S. military personnel (or defense contractors) for deployment. This would put American boots on he ground and potentially escalate this conflict to a global conflict between the United States and Russia. This is the opposed to what Donald Trump promised during his campaign. 

          All of this saber rattling may be completely unnecessary. Ukraine has been quietly developing its own cruise missile with a range exceeding that of either the Tomahawk or the Storm Shadow. According to Newsmax, Ukraine is now in the final testing stages of their new FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile. 

          According to the IISS Missile Dialogue Initiative, the Flamingo is one of the world’s largest and longest-range ground-launched cruise missile systems. Developed by Ukrainian start-up company, Fire Point, the key advantages of the weapon are the relatively low cost, achieved through the use of off-the-shelf or repurposed components and ability to deliver a much larger payload. The disadvantages are the large size, subsonic performance, and lack of maturity compared to its competitors. 

          Whether the quality, survivability and scale of production can overcome these disadvantages remains to be seen. However, this marks a milestone in the Ukrainian conflict. Not only does Zelenskyy not have to rely on foreign weapons supplied (or not supplied) by foreign governments, but he is also not constrained by targeting restrictions. 

          This could help Ukraine achieve peace through strength.