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Russia called on the United States to exercise a responsible approach regarding providing Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine, warning that such a decision would change the situation.
Sergey Ryabkov, Russian deputy foreign minister, said Wednesday that Tomahawk missiles can only be used with American military support and urged Washington to reconsider.
"I hope those who are forcing Washington to make such a decision are aware of the consequences and seriousness," Ryabkov told journalists in Moscow.
"We call on the U.S. administration and American military to display a sensible, rational and responsible approach on this issue," he added.
Ryabkov said the situation would change if the systems were delivered to Kyiv. Ryabkov also noted that Russia maintains periodic contact with the U.S. on prisoner exchanges, but no progress has been made on the issue.
Ryabkov said momentum towards reaching a peace deal in Ukraine has vanished, mainly following the August summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump in Anchorage, Alaska.
"Unfortunately, we must admit that the powerful momentum generated by Anchorage in favor of agreements... has largely gone," Ryabkov said, blaming Europe for the impasse and accusing European countries of wanting to wage a "war to the last Ukrainian."
The two leaders met at an air base in Anchorage in August but failed to reach any peace agreement to end the fighting.
Diplomatic efforts have since stalled, with both Moscow and Kyiv launching deadly strikes into each other's territory and Russia advancing on the battlefield.
Trump has grown increasingly frustrated at Putin's apparent reluctance to accept a deal, saying last month he was "very disappointed" with the Russian leader.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated in a late September interview with the American website Axios that he had requested long-range Tomahawk missile assistance from Trump.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance told Fox News in an interview that they were evaluating Ukraine's request.
Russian President Putin said Oct. 3 at the main session of the Valdai International Discussion Club in Sochi that providing Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine would not change the balance on the battlefield, but that using Tomahawks without American military support would not be possible.
Trump stated recently that he would want to know what Ukraine planned to do with the Tomahawks before agreeing to provide them because he did not want to escalate the war. He said he had "sort of made a decision" on the matter.
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Andrei Kartapolov, head of the Russian parliament's defense committee and former deputy defense minister, told Russia's state-run agency RIA Novosti on Wednesday that Russia will shoot down Tomahawk cruise missiles and bomb their launch sites if the United States supplies them to Ukraine.
"Our response will be tough, ambiguous, measured and asymmetrical. We will find ways to hurt those who cause us trouble," Kartapolov said.
He said Tomahawks would not change anything on the battlefield even if supplied to Ukraine because they could only be given in small numbers.
"We know these missiles very well, how they fly, and how to shoot them down; we worked with them in Syria, so there is nothing new," Kartapolov said.
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