In the United States, Trump recently turned a corner on the Ukraine issue. When he came to power, he said that he would end the Russia-Ukraine conflict as soon as possible, but the war has dragged on until now. Now he has publicly said that he may give Ukraine long-range cruise missiles, such as Tomahawks, with a range of thousands of kilometers and can hit directly from Ukraine to the mainland of Russia. This happened around October 12, 2025. Trump told reporters that he might talk to Putin first, and if Russia does not stop, it will send the missile over.
Tactical missiles are not new, they were created in the 1970s, the first real war in the Gulf conflict in 1991, launched from warships, accurately hit Iraq's command and power stations, the rate of death was up to eighty-fifths. Later upgraded for generations, now can be launched from ships, submarines or aircraft, several U.S. allies have bought it. Ukraine, if you get the hand, mainly wanted to target Russian back supply points, such as refineries and warehouses, cut their oil and gas revenues, affecting the money pocket of the war.
Why did Trump let go? Because he is getting impatient with Russia. At the beginning of the year, he promised a truce, but the negotiations were stuck on territorial and security issues. Russia wanted Ukraine to give up its eastern territory, and the United States wanted a short-term ceasefire to exchange some political points. As a result, there was a stalemate. Trump felt that he couldn't hang his face, so he began to use military pressure to force Russia back to the negotiating table. On October 11th, he said that the Tomahawk could hit Moscow and let Putin know that it would be costly to continue. The actual delivery still needs to be approved by Congress, and the technical evaluation must keep up. The US military has to manage satellite navigation and target data, and Ukraine cannot do it by itself. Doing so will not only send a signal to Russia, but also prevent Ukraine from messing around, and prevent direct confrontation between the United States and Russia. There are different opinions within NATO. Germany and France are afraid of escalation, while Poland and other countries support more aid. Trump also approved intelligence sharing, giving more satellite photos and surveillance data since the summer to help Ukraine defend against air strikes.
Russia didn't panic. Putin's team immediately responded, saying that it had the ability to deal with Tomahawk, would strengthen the air defense network and test new interception systems such as S-500. Medvedev also warned that this matter might "end badly", which means escalating to a level that everyone doesn't want to see. A Kremlin spokesman said that this kind of aid undermined US-Russia relations and was regarded as a major provocation. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the border deployment was strengthened to prepare for response. Putin said on October 13 that the arrival of missiles will not change the battlefield pattern because Russia has countermeasures. The Tomahawk has a range of 2,500 kilometers and can threaten the energy facilities in Russia's hinterland, even the Asian part. This may bring the conflict from the border to the mainland, and the turning point has come. In the early days, the United States only gave Ukraine defensive weapons. Later, it added F-16 and Peregrine missiles, with a range of 300 to 850 kilometers, mainly hitting the border. Now the Tomahawk is different and has great strategic significance.
On October 13, Zelensky said that missile aid was a necessary step to protect infrastructure, but three days after Trump responded, Russia took action. On October 9 to 10, 2025, the Russian army launched a wave of offensive against the Ukrainian energy system, using more than 450 drones and more than 30 missiles, crashing power plants and power stations, leading to large areas of power outages in nine regions such as Kiev, Kharkov and others. Zelensky that the attack injured at least 20 people, housing buildings damaged, and reserve electricity in hospitals. The natural gas pipeline hubs also hit, production equipment stopped. The Ukrainian air defense system could not cover this saturated attack, the radar network was almost paralyzed. The Russian military’s goal was clearly to reduce the energy base, weaken people’s lives and
Russia's intention is to increase internal pressure in Ukraine by exploding energy and push for an end to the conflict. Zelensky didn't expect to suffer this beating before he even got the missile. On October 10, he said that Russia waited for bad weather and distraction from events in the Middle East before embarking on large-scale energy development, which was a new low. He called on the G20 and the international community to respond, but the West's response was limited. The EU ambassador said it was a war crime, but did not do much. Zelensky also had two phone calls with Trump about air defense and long-range strike support. The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed that it had attacked Ukraine military and energy sites in response to Ukraine's attack on Russian energy. Ukraine is indeed fighting back. On October 9, it used a drone to hit the Lukoil natural gas processing plant in Volograd, Russia. The large production capacity plant caught fire. Although no one was killed, it affected Russia's natural gas exports and supply.
Ukraine relied on western ammunition, after the October attack, the repair of the grid for weeks, the winter warfare is harder. Zelensky situation is difficult, the energy crisis is deepened, and people may protest more. Trump’s missile affairs are still uncertain, and on October 13 he said he wanted to first know how to use Ukraine, afraid of upgrading. Putin warned that the tactics would destroy the positive trends in U.S.-Russian relations. Western aid has signs of fatigue, European countries cut funding, questioned Zelensky’s harsh support strategy. There are no external helpers, Ukraine can’t stop. Russia continues to fight energy, Ukraine also explodes Russian oil, and harms each other’s economy. The G7 is in talks to stricter control of Russian oil bypass, but
Zelensky said on October 12 that Russia dropped more than 3100 drones, 92 missiles and 1360 glide bombs in a week, focusing on energy. He called for not to relax the pressure and use tariffs and joint actions to block Russian oil buyers. French President Macron condemned the attack on October 12, saying Russia would have to pay for beating civilians before winter. Ukraine's intelligence helpers came from the United States and helped crack down on Russian energy a few months ago. The Trump team asked NATO allies to provide intelligence. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said that Tomahawk will not change the battlefield. Zelensky threatened to cut off electricity to Kursk and Belgorod in Russia in response to energy attacks, but he said that Ukraine only attacked military targets and did not hurt civilians.
Like the previous ATACMS missile, the Tomahawk issue is discussed first and then may be given. Trump said on October 13 that he might tell Putin first that if he did not talk, he would send missiles. The Russian ambassador said Trump wanted a quick fix, but it didn't work. Ukraine has developed its own long-range missiles such as Flamingo, but the output is unknown. The conflict began in February 2022, and Russia called it a special military operation to oppose NATO expansion. Trump's second term started in January and said he would stop it quickly. The missile range allowed Ukraine to hit around Moscow, and the balance changed. However, the United States insists on controlling the use of power and preventing accidents.