Russia responds to US, UK and French air strikes

RUSSIA has responded to the US, UK and French air strikes with a dark threat of their own.

RUSSIA has responded to the Syrian air strikes by declaring the country was poised to have a “peaceful future” and vowed there “will be consequences” for the US-led attacks.

Russia’s ambassador to the United States says there will be consequences for the military strikes on Syria, and it was not acceptable to insult Russia’s president.

“A pre-designed scenario is being implemented,” Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov said in an explosive comment on Twitter.

“Again, we are being threatened. We warned that such actions will not be left without consequences.”

He added: “Insulting the President of Russia is unacceptable and inadmissable. The US - the possessor of the biggest arsenal of chemical weapons - has no moral right to blame other countries.”

Russia’s foreign ministry said the strikes came as the country had “a chance of a peaceful future.”

A fighter jet landing at Akrotiri military British Royal Air Force Base in Cyprus.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on Facebook: “Those behind all this claim moral leadership in the world and declare they are exceptional. You need to be really exceptional to shell Syria’s capital at the moment when it had gained a chance of a peaceful future.”

Huge blasts were reported around Damascus early on Saturday, moments after the US, France, and Britain announced they were striking Syria’s chemical weapons capabilities.

The joint operation came one week after a suspected chemical attack outside Damascus left more than 40 people dead.

A newsreader announces that air strike on Syria, saying that Syria's air defence system has been activated against the strikes. Picture: AP

Smoke rises after air strikes targeting different parts of the Syrian capital Damascus.

Zakharova suggested that Western media bore some responsibility for the strikes, claiming the White House cited “multiple media sources” on the suspected chemical weapons attack in Douma.

“American and other Western media must understand their responsibility for what happened,” Zakharova wrote.

The Russian defence ministry and the Kremlin have yet to make any comment on the strikes announced by US President Donald Trump.

Earlier today, Mr Trump took aim at Russia and Iran as strong supporters of Syria’s dictator President Bashar al-Assad.

“To Iran and to Russia, I ask: “What kind of a nation wants to be associated with the mass murder of innocent men, women and children?’”

Meanwhile, a highly placed Russian politician is likening President Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler after the launch of airstrikes against Syria, and says he regards the action as a move against Russia.

Alexander Sherin, deputy head of the State Duma’s defense committee, said Trump “can be called Adolf Hitler No. 2 of our time - because, you see, he even chose the time that Hitler attacked the Soviet Union.”

The Nazi forces’ opening attack against the USSR in 1941 was launched around 4 a.m.

More to come