Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Russia’s response to any potential Tomahawk missile strike on its territory would be “serious, if not overwhelming.”
Although the United States has not yet approved Ukraine’s request to use the long-range cruise missiles, Putin described Kyiv’s attempts to seek permission as “an attempt at escalation.” Speaking to reporters on Thursday, he said, “If such weapons are used to strike Russian territory, the response will be very serious, if not overwhelming. Let them think about that.”
Despite the rising tensions, Putin said Moscow remains open to dialogue with Washington, even after US President Donald Trump cancelled a planned summit between the two leaders. The meeting was initially expected to take place in Budapest, Hungary, in the coming weeks.
“Dialogue is always better than confrontation, than disputes, or even more so than war,” Putin said, stressing the need for continued diplomacy to end the conflict in Ukraine. “We have always supported dialogue, and we continue to support it now. It would be a mistake for both me and the US President to approach this lightly and come away without meaningful results.”
Putin noted that the summit had originally been proposed by Washington but was now “postponed.”
Turning to the latest US sanctions on Russia’s oil sector, Putin dismissed them as a futile attempt to pressure Moscow. “No self-respecting country ever does anything under pressure,” he said, after the US imposed sweeping restrictions on Rosneft and Lukoil, Russia’s largest oil producers. The sanctions followed Moscow’s rejection of calls for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine.
Earlier, US Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg said Washington was “considering” providing Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine at the request of President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Tomahawk, a long-range precision weapon with an operational range of 1,600–2,500 km, can carry either conventional or nuclear warheads and is typically launched from ships or aircraft.
Putin said he had warned President Trump that such sanctions could destabilize global energy markets and push oil prices higher worldwide. “We said clearly that this would affect global oil prices, including in the United States,” he noted.
Acknowledging the impact of the new measures, Putin said they were “serious” but would not have a significant effect on Russia’s economy. “They will have certain consequences, but they will not affect our economic well-being in a major way,” he said, calling the sanctions an “unfriendly act” that undermines the recent progress in Russia–US relations.
Trump, who initially sought to improve ties with Moscow, has grown increasingly frustrated with Putin’s refusal to agree to a ceasefire, reportedly saying peace talks were not “going anywhere.” The US President had delayed sanctions for months but moved ahead after cancelling the Budapest summit, citing lack of progress.
The US Treasury Department said the sanctions aim to “limit Russia’s ability to finance its aggression.” President Zelensky welcomed the move, calling it a step toward weakening the Kremlin’s capacity to wage war.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Ministry condemned the sanctions as “counterproductive,” saying the country had built “strong immunity” to Western restrictions. Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told state news agency Tass, “We consider this step to be exclusively counterproductive.”
At the White House, Trump told reporters during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that he hoped the war would soon end. “Every time I speak with Vladimir, I have good conversations, but they don’t go anywhere. He’s in a war. It’s two very competent sides. You never know with war, but I would say it’s time to make a deal,” he said.
Trump confirmed that he had cancelled the planned meeting with Putin, explaining, “It just didn’t feel right to me. It didn’t feel like we were going to get where we needed to be. So I cancelled it — but we’ll do it in the future.”
