Updates From Russia: 'Are 'Smart' Missiles An Attempt To Destroy Alleged Chem Attack Evidence In Syria? 'Any U.S. Missiles Fired At Syria Will Be Shot Down, Launch Sites Targeted

Trump: Get ready Russia, missiles will be coming at Syria, nice and new and ‘smart’!

Donald Trump warned Russia to "get ready" after Moscow vowed to shoot any missiles fired at Syria down. "They will be coming, nice and new and smart," Trump tweeted.

Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and “smart!” You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2018

The tweet appears to be an unofficial announcement of the "major decisions" which Trump said Washington would soon be making regarding the alleged chemical attack in Syria.

It comes after Russia vowed to shoot down any US missiles aimed at Syria. “If there is an American strike, then we... will shoot down the missiles and target the positions from where they were launched,” Alexander Zasypkin, the Russian envoy to Beirut, said on Wednesday. “In the past few days, we have seen an escalation towards a significant crisis."

Trump isn't the only US official to prematurely point the finger at Assad. US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley was quick to call him a "monster" following reports of the alleged attack. She referred to the Syrian government as a "murderous regime."

Meanwhile, Russia's Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia has warned against the US carrying out an "illegal military endeavor," adding that he hopes Washington "comes to its senses."

Trump has been holding calls with his British and French counterparts. It remains unclear whether the UK will take part in military action, after a report in The Times suggested that Prime Minister Theresa May is waiting until there's evidence of Syria's culpability for the alleged attack.

Moscow to Trump: Are ‘smart’ missiles an attempt to destroy alleged chem attack evidence in Syria?

Responding to a threat from US President Donald Trump, who said Russia should prepare for “nice new and smart missiles” launched by America at Syria, Moscow said if the weapons were smart, they would target terrorists.

“Smart missiles should fly towards terrorists, not [Syria’s] lawful government, which has spent several years fighting against international terrorism on its territory,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in response to Trump’s tweet on Wednesday.

She added the US may be seeking to undermine an inspection by chemical weapons experts, who are planning to investigate on the ground in Syria after the alleged attack which sparked the current confrontation between Russia and the US.

“Are the OPCW inspectors aware that smart missiles are about to destroy all evidence of the chemical weapons use on the ground? Or is that the actual plan – to cover up all evidence of this fabricated attack with smart missile strikes, so that international inspectors had no evidence to look for?” Zakharova asked.

Trump’s threat comes in apparent response to remarks by Russia’s ambassador to Lebanon, Alexander Zasypkin, who said Russian troops deployed in Syria have legal grounds to shoot down any American missiles attacking targets there, and may do so in case of an attack.

Any US missiles fired at Syria will be shot down, launch sites targeted – Russian envoy to Lebanon

The Russian military reserves the right to shoot down missiles and destroy launch sites in the event of US aggression against Syria, Moscow's envoy to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin has warned.

Zasypkin stressed that “the Russian forces will confront any US aggression on Syria, by intercepting the missiles and striking their launch pads,” al-Manar TV website reported, citing the envoy.

Speaking to the channel, the ambassador also said that the allegations of a chemical attack were being used to justify “offensive acts” in Syria, while “the US and Western escalation against Syria will lead to a major crisis.”

The statement comes after Washington threatened a "forceful response" against Syria after an alleged chemical attack in the Damascus suburb of Douma on Saturday. The US was quick to pin the blame on the Syrian government, basing its accusations on unverified data and images, including reports from the infamous, rebel-linked White Helmets ‘civil defense’ group.

On Tuesday, the UN Security Council failed to pass three consecutive resolutions calling for an investigation into the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria. A Russian-sponsored draft backing a fact-finding mission at the site by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is the latest to have been rejected by the body.

As the initiative was voted down by the US, the UK, France and Poland; Russia's UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia once again called for the West to "refrain from the plans which you might be harboring with regards to Syria.”

Earlier on Tuesday, the OPCW announced that is preparing deploy its team to Douma “shortly” to investigate the reports of an attack there. Earlier, Russian specialists at the site had found no traces of chemical weapons or any victims treated for chemical poisoning.

While US President Donald Trump is weighing up options, reports emerged signaling that Washington is beefing up its forces in the Middle East. On Monday, the guided-missile destroyer ‘Donald Cook’ departed the port of Larnaca in Cyprus, reportedly heading towards Syria. Meanwhile on Wednesday, the USS ‘Harry S. Truman’ aircraft carrier, accompanied by strike groups, is scheduled to set sail for a “regular” mission to the Middle East and Europe.

Meanwhile, Eurocontrol – an EU body tasked with handling air traffic over the continent – issued a Rapid Alert Notification, warning flight operators in the Eastern Mediterranean about “the possible launch of airstrikes into Syria with air-to-ground and/or cruise missiles within the next 72 hours.”

While the West is poised for a military response to the alleged chemical incident in Syria, Moscow is warning against further destabilization of the region. Russia hopes that all the sides will “avoid any steps which are not provoked by anything in reality and can substantially destabilize the already fragile situation in the region,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on Wednesday.

Russia to Respond Instantly, If Its Troops in Syria Hit by US Strike

First deputy chairman of the Russian upper house's Defense Committee, Yevgeny Serebrennikov said Wednesday that Russia will respond immediately if its military in Syria gets hit by a possible US airstrike.

Russia’s Hmeymim airbase and Tartus naval base, as well as Russian servicemen deployed in Syria, are under firm protection as the United States is anticipated to carry out airstrikes in Syria in response to an alleged chemical weapon attack in the city of Douma, Serebrennikov, told Sputnik.

Russia Responds to Trump's Military Threats in Syria, Puts Forces on High Alert

The Russian military has reportedly gone on high alert in anticipation of a potential U.S. attack on the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a Moscow ally accused of using chemical weapons in a seven-year civil war.

Leading Russian politicians and military officials reacted to President Donald Trump's promise Monday to respond "forcefully" within "the next 24 to 48 hours" to the Syrian military's alleged use of toxic gas earlier this week in rebel-held Douma, a suburb of Damascus.

"The politics of double standards have hit rock bottom. And here the United Russia party conscientiously states that all political, diplomatic and military measures if necessary will be taken. No illegal action will remain unanswered," Shamanov said, according to the state-run Tass news agency.

"They should not pin their hopes on their naval task forces and their deceptions. We are a sovereign country, and we have allies and guarantors for those events taking place in Syria. We won’t let the Americans hammer nails on someone else’s anvil," he added.

An Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, the Donald Cook is armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles, the same launched against a Syrian air base after reports of a deadly chemical weapons attack in rebel territory a year ago. An airstrike hit a Syrian air base in the central Homs province Sunday, but the Pentagon has denied responsibility for the attack, which killed Iranian and Syrian personnel. Russia, Iran, Syria and Lebanon have blamed the attack on Israel, which has declined to comment but has struck Syrian targets before.

Shamanov, who said local investigators found no trace of chemical weapons at the site of the reported attack, condemned Israel's unilateral airstrike. Russia has maintained a working relationship with Israel despite allying with Iran to help Assad overcome a 2011 uprising by insurgents and jihadis, including the Islamic State militant group (ISIS). It has also helped build up Syria's air defenses, which reportedly intercepted a number of missiles Monday and shot down an attacking Israeli jet in February. The Israeli incursion reportedly came in response to an Iranian drone crossing into Israeli airspace.

ABC News reported Tuesday that the Syrian military deployed missile defense systems near Assad's presidential palace in Damascus and that the U.S. destroyer was in striking distance of the country. Russian Beriev A-50 early-warning aircraft were deployed to the coast, according to Iran's semiofficial Fars News Agency. The elite Black Sea Fleet has declared a state of alert, according to Al Jazeera.

Last month, Russia's top general, Valery Gerasimov, warned that his armed forces would "target both the missiles and their delivery vehicles" if a U.S. strike endangered the lives of Russian personnel, who were present at a number of Syrian military installations.

The U.S. and a number of allies initially supported the 2011 rebellion against Assad, but the Pentagon later focused on battling ISIS as the jihadis swallowed much of the Syrian opposition. As the militants lost territory nationwide in the years since, the multinational battle against them has taken a back seat to renewed tensions among local, regional and international forces, especially the U.S., Russia, Iran and Turkey. The Syrian government recognizes only Russia and Iran's military presence as legitimate.

Turkey, an ally of both the U.S. and Russia, launched a major incursion in January aimed at dislodging U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters, many of whom have since fled the U.S.-led battle against ISIS to take on the Turks and their Syrian rebel allies. The offensive has brought the Kurds closer to Assad and was followed by clashesbetween pro-Syrian government forces—including Russian citizens—and the mostly Arab remnants of the Syrian Democratic Forces in the east.

On Monday, Defense Secretary James Mattis said he "would not rule out anything" in terms of a U.S. military response in Syria. Last month, Mattis said that a sequel to the clashes between pro-Syrian government forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces was avoided when U.S. military leaders contacted their Russian counterparts via a de-confliction line.