On Sunday, September 28, 2025, during The Sunday Briefing on Fox News, Keith Kellogg, the U.S. President’s Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia, said that Ukraine had been authorized to use American long-range missiles to strike targets on Russian territory. On the same day, a missile attack occurred on a combined heat and power plant in Belgorod.
Zdjęcie poglądowe: US Army
At the same time, in another interview yesterday on Fox News Sunday, Vice President JD Vance confirmed The Wall Street Journal’s reports that the U.S. is considering providing Ukraine with Tomahawk cruise missiles, not directly as a donation, but through their purchase by NATO allies (Ukraine had sought these missiles as far back as the Joe Biden administration, as President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on October 30 last year). However, a final decision has not yet been made.
Both officials were asked to comment on Donald Trump’s remarks, first published on September 23 on the social media platform Truth, and later repeated several times publicly, including in his speech at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The U.S. President said that Russia is a paper tiger, incapable of winning this war, and that with the support of the EU and NATO, Ukraine may be able to restore its former borders. A similar narrative was presented in the media by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, emphasizing that the U.S. is preparing serious consequences if Moscow does not change course.
“I think reading what (Trump) has said, and reading what Vice President Vance has said as well as Secretary Rubio, the answer is yes. Use the ability to hit deep,” – said Keith Kellog. He pointed out, however, the nuances of this decision, as the authorization is not absolute. Sometimes they receive part of the approval, and sometimes not. “I think everyone should follow the president’s instructions,” explained the retired general.
🚨 "…Putin and Russia are in BIG Economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act. In any event, I wish both Countries well. We will continue to supply weapons to NATO for NATO to do what they want with them. Good luck to all!" – PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP pic.twitter.com/YI0N4JF4ll
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 23, 2025
This coincides with ongoing Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries in the western part of the country, which have led to a significant decline in the production of gasoline and diesel fuel. As a result, in many regions of Russia these products are either unavailable at gas stations or are being rationed.
Meanwhile, following the statements by Keith Kellogg and JD Vance, on Sunday evening Ukrainian forces carried out a drone and missile strike on a combined heat and power plant in Belgorod and on power substations: Luch on Kharkov Hill and another in the Kreida district. As a result, electricity and water shortages occurred in the city and surrounding towns (Stary Oskol and Shebekino), as reported by the governor of Belgorod Oblast, Vyacheslav Gladkov, on his Telegram channel. Immediately, suspicions arose that MGM-140 ATACMS ballistic missiles or guided missiles from the GMLRS family had been used.
💥 Russia: Ukraine struck the Combined Heat and Power Plant in Belgorod with missiles.
The city is now in a total blackout without electricity and water. pic.twitter.com/YYr1P9YPmX— Igor Sushko (@igorsushko) September 28, 2025
It is worth remembering that on November 17, 2024, reports emerged that the then Joe Biden administration had authorized Ukrainians to use ATACMS missiles to strike targets on Russian territory, directly linked to North Korea’s involvement in Russia’s war. Already on the night of November 18–19, an ammunition depot (arsenal) of the 67th Artillery Directorate of the GRAU in Karachev, Bryansk Oblast, was attacked with 6–8 missiles. In response, Russia announced a change in its nuclear deterrence policy, expanding it to include the possibility of an ultimate response even to a conventional attack under certain conditions, and on November 21 struck the city of Dnipro with a new medium-range ballistic missile, the Oreshnik. Subsequently, between November 24–26, Ukrainian forces twice attacked Russian troops in Kursk Oblast with ATACMS missiles, and the most recent known attack took place on January 14 this year in Bryansk Oblast.
After Donald Trump took office, the use of American missiles in Russia ceased. Now, after months of failures by the White House administration to bring about peace due to Russian resistance, the U.S. is returning to the policy of the previous president, who only at the end of his term, in fact, after Kamala Harris’s defeat in the election, agreed to such actions against Russia.