The remains of one of the hangars obliterated by US missiles fired from destroyers overnight
The Kremlin has warned the US it is ‘one step from war' over Syria - but the Trump administration hit back by saying it would be prepared to carry out airstrikes again.
In the first direct American raid on Bashar al Assad’s forces, President Trump authorised the firing of 59 cruise missiles at a military airfield.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev denounced the US for attacking ‘the legitimate government of Syria’ and for allegedly breaking international law without the approval of the UN.
Mr Medvedev said: ‘This military action is a clear indication of the US president’s extreme dependency on the views of the Washington establishment, the one that the new president strongly criticised in his inauguration speech.'
‘Soon after his victory, I noted that everything would depend on how soon Trump’s election promises would be broken by the existing power machine. It took only two and a half months.
’The last remaining election fog has lifted. Instead of an overworked statement about a joint fight against the biggest enemy, ISIS, the Trump administration proved that it will fiercely fight the legitimate Syrian government’.
But the US President warned he would do it again after unleashing a surprise attack on the Syrian regime with a massive show of firepower.
Officials said it was retaliation for Assad’s use of chemical weapons and would ‘deter’ further atrocities. The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley (above), said that her country had taken ‘a very measured step’. She added: ‘We are prepared to do more but we hope that will not be necessary’
Officials said it was retaliation for Assad’s use of chemical weapons and would ‘deter’ further atrocities. The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said that her country had taken ‘a very measured step’.
She added: ‘We are prepared to do more but we hope that will not be necessary.’
Vladimir Putin yesterday also denounced the US missile strikes as an illegal act of aggression against a sovereign nation.
The furious Russian president responded to the attack against his ally by diverting warship the Admiral Grigorovich to protect the Syrian coast and vowing to bolster Assad’s missile defences against further bombing raids.
He also suspended a military hotline known as the ‘deconfliction line’ which is designed to avoid mid-air collisions and confrontations between Russian and US fighter jets over the war-torn country.
The two old Cold War superpowers clashed at the UN Security Council where a Russian envoy claimed US ‘aggression’ had strengthened terrorism.
But Mrs Haley said the Russian government held ‘considerable responsibility’ for Assad’s use of chemical weapons.
‘Every time Assad has crossed the line of human decency, Russia has stood beside him,’ she said.
He had terrorised his country and shocked the conscience of the world, Mrs Haley added.
‘He murdered hundreds of thousands and displaced millions’.
On Tuesday Assad launched ‘yet another chemical attack, murdering men women and children in the most gruesome way’, Mrs Haley said.
‘Assad did this because he thought he could get away with it. He thought he knew Russia would have his back.’
Mrs Haley said that changed with the American strike: ‘When the international community fails in its duty to act collectively there are times when states are compelled to take their own action.’
The use of chemical weapons against civilians is ‘one of those times’, she said, adding: ‘The moral stain of the Assad regime could no longer go unanswered.
‘The United States took a very measured step last night.
'We are prepared to do more. But we hope that will not be necessary.
'It is time for all civilised nations to stop the horrors that are taking place in Syria and demand a political solution.’
The action marked a dramatic U-turn from the new US administration.
In the final days of last year’s election campaign, Mr Trump warned a ‘shooting war in Syria’ could bring the US into a conflict with Russia that could ‘very well lead to World War III’.
In an emotive broadcast in the early hours of yesterday morning, Mr Trump said he was responding to the Syrian regime’s attack – believed to have involved sarin nerve agents – on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun which left at least 72 people dead, including 20 children.
‘Using a deadly nerve agent, Assad choked out the lives of helpless men, women and children. It was a slow and brutal death for so many,’ he said.
‘Even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in this very barbaric attack. No child of God should ever suffer such horror.’
Downing Street was swift to back the action.
At the UN, Britain came out in strong support of its ally ‘because war crimes have consequences and the greatest war criminal of all, Bashar al Assad, has now been put on notice,’ said UK ambassador Matthew Rycroft.
At the UN, Britain came out in strong support of its ally ‘because war crimes have consequences and the greatest war criminal of all, Bashar al Assad (left), has now been put on notice,’ said UK ambassador Mr Rycroft. Right, the remains of one of the hangars obliterated by US missiles fired from destroyers overnight
‘The US strike was a proportionate response to unspeakable acts that gave rise to overwhelming humanitarian distress,’ he added.
‘It was also a strong effort to save lives, by ensuring such acts never happen again.’
Russia had been ‘humiliated by its failure to bring to heel a puppet dictator, entirely propped up by Russia itself and Hezbollah and Iran’, he said.
Moscow compared the US action with the invasion of Iraq by American and British forces in 2003.
Assad's base in ruins: Dramatic satellite photos reveal how airfield pounded with 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles is 'almost completely destroyed' after punishment for deadly chemical weapon attack
New images from the Department of Defense show how 59 powerful US missiles obliterated an airfield that was allegedly being used by Bashar al-Assad's regime to mount chemical attacks.
Observers said al-Sharyat Air Base was 'almost completely destroyed' by the 1,000lb warheads in a 30-minute barrage of destruction that is said to have destroyed 20 planes, a dozen aircraft hangars and a fuel depot, as well as ripped up runways, storage sites and radars.
The missiles were launched from US destroyers 150 miles away in the Mediterranean Sea in response to Assad's Sarin gas attack in Idlib on Tuesday, which killed 80 civilians, including children.
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