RUSSIA has vowed to shoot down any US missiles fired in revenge to the alleged chemical attack in Syria.
Alexander Zasypkin, Russia's ambassador to Lebanon, said Vladimir Putin would strike back against any military action taken by US President Trump.
“If there is a strike by the Americans then ... the missiles will be downed and even the sources from which the missiles were fired,” he told Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV.

Meanwhile, RAF bombers were last night on standby to strike Syrian tyrant Bashar Al-Assad.

Major activity was reported at Britain’s Tornado base in Cyprus shortly before civilian planes were said to have been ordered to clear the airspace over Syria by the US.

It came as Britain told the UN that responsibility for the "diabolical" chemical attack lay with "Syria and its backers in Russia and Iran," and attacked Russia's attempts to portray itself as the victim.

Theresa May and Donald Trump vowed to stop Syria using chemical weapons as the US President cleared the way for military strikes against Bashar Al-Assad.

The Prime Minister rang both the US President and France’s Emmanuel Macron in a frantic round of diplomacy over the suspected chemical attack in Douma.

The White House said Mrs May agreed with Mr Trump that the alleged attack showed Syrian President Assad’s “vicious disregard for human life”.A statement added: “The President and Prime Minister agreed not to allow the use of chemical weapons to continue.”

Donald Trump and his Pentagon chief General Mattis both cancelled planned trips for the weekend to “oversee the American response to Syria”.

In the early hours of Tuesday, a heavy flight of US-led coalition warplanes were reportedly seen flying over the Iraqi border.

But Russia's Defence Committee have hit back, saying that they will respond immediately if its military is impacted by a possible US airstrike.Civilian planes were said to have been ordered to clear the airspace over Syria by the US military as flight radar showed aircraft diverting away.

European air traffic controllers issued a "rapid alert" for airlines in the Eastern Mediterranean over the possibility of air strikes into Syria within the next 72 hours.

The USS Donald missile destroyer was sailing towards Syria as the White House weighed up its options. Turkish media reported “remarkable” activity at an RAF Tornado base in Cyprus.

But sources accused Mrs May of trying to delay Donald Trump – as his deadline for a decision on strikes against the Assad regime edged closer.

A Downing Street read out of the same phone call with the US President was markedly more guarded than the White House’s version of events – saying Assad’s guilt had yet to be “confirmed”.

No.10 added: “They agreed they would continue working closely together and with international partners to ensure that those responsible were held to account.”Mrs May held a meeting with Cabinet Ministers and security chiefs yesterday and another was scheduled to take place.

One senior Tory said he had been disappointed by the PM’s response – saying “she should be all over this, and leading from the front”.

Last night the UK’s permanent representative to the UN said the use of chemical weapons was an “escalatory act”.

Speaking at a meeting of the Security Council, Karen Pierce also slammed Russia for trying to make a bitter row over the attack a dispute between East and West:

She said: “The responsibility for the cruelty in Syria belongs to Syria and its backers in Russia and Iran.

“The use of chemical weapons is an escalatory and a diabolical act.

“What Russia is trying to do, it strikes me, Mr President, is to turn the debate in this Council away from a discussion of the use of chemical weapons into a dispute between East and West, presenting itself as the victim.”

Donald Trump’s desire for rapid reprisals was complicated by the global chemicals watchdog announcing it was sending a fact-finding team to Douma to probe the alleged poison gas attack, where rebels claimed at least 40 people died on Saturday.On Monday the US President condemned the “heinous” chemical weapon attack and said he would decide within the next 24 to 48 hours whether to launch a military reprisal.

Military chiefs in the UK were instructed on Monday to draw up options for a joint strike. Eight GR4 Tornado jets based at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus could be used.

The Tornados have Storm Shadow missiles which have a range of more than 150 miles – enabling pilots to keep out of the range of Syrian anti-air defences.

Speaking on a visit to Cambridge yesterday, Mrs May once more sidestepped questions over whether Britain would be involved in military action.She said: “This attack that took place in Douma is a barbaric attack.

“Obviously we are working urgently with our allies and partners to assess what has happened on the ground.

“If this is the responsibility of Assad’s regime in Syria then it’s yet another example of the brutality and brazen disregard for their people that they show.”https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6022894/russia-vows-shoot-down-us-missiles-fired-at-syria-and-bomb-launch-sites-in-revenge-strikes-over-assads-chemical-attack/
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-syria-russia-diplomat/russian-ambassador-to-lebanon-any-u-s-missiles-fired-at-syria-will-be-shot-down-idUKKBN1HI0Q2?rpc=401&