Russia's threat to 'those who cause trouble' as Trump missile deal moves closer

Russia has threatened to shoot down any Tomahawk cruise missiles and destroy launch sites if Donald Trump supplies the weapons to Ukraine.

A senior Russian lawmaker issue the dire threat after Trump said he had "sort of made a decision" over whether the send the powerful 1,600-mile range missiles for use by Volodymyr Zelensky's forces. The US president told reporters on Monday: "I sort of made a decision, pretty much, if you consider... 

"I think I want to find out what they’re doing with them. You know, where are they sending them? I guess I’d have to ask that question."

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But on Wednesday, Andrei Kartapolov, head of the Russian parliament’s defence committee and a former deputy defence minister, told state news agency RIA that the response from Putin would be "tough, ambiguous, measured, and asymmetrical" if the Tomahawk deal went ahead. Warning of strikes on launch sites, he said: "We will find ways to hurt those who cause us trouble."

But he also played down suggestions from NATO allies that the weapons could help turn the tide against Russia in Ukraine, claiming that they could only be supplied to Kyiv "in tens rather than hundreds" due to a lack of infrastructure.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov meanwhile said on Wednesday that the "momentum" generated by Putin and Trump's meeting in Alaska back in August has evaporated - pinning the blame on the "destructive actions" of European allies.

He said: "I hope that those who are pushing Washington toward such decisions fully understand the gravity and depth of the potential consequences. We, of course, call on the U.S. leadership and the American military to approach this situation soberly, sensibly, and responsibly."

Russia seriously damaged one of Ukraine’s thermal power plants in an overnight attack on Wednesday as Moscow pursued its campaign to deny Ukrainians vital supplies as the harsh winter approaches.

Two workers were injured in the attack, according to DTEK, Ukraine’s biggest electricity operator. It provided no further information, including the plant’s location.

Vladimir Putin, who turned 73 on Tuesday, began a state visit Wednesday in Tajikistan for a three-day trip that includes a series of meetings with leaders of other nations that once were part of the Soviet Union.

The Human Rights Watch NGO urged the nation to arrest Putin under the 2023 International Criminal Court warrant for war crimes, warning that its failure to do so will show "utter disregard for the suffering of victims of Russian forces’ crimes in Ukraine."