Russia signaled on Wednesday that progress for a peace deal in Ukraine had halted because of perceived European interference in the matter.
In a press conference, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that the Kremlin didn’t see a way forward for peace talks.
“Unfortunately, we have to admit that the strong momentum from Anchorage in favor of reaching agreements has, to a large extent, been exhausted," Ryabkov said. "This is the result of the Europeans' destructive actions."
Ryabkov also said that the potential appearance of US Tomahawk missiles in Ukraine would mean a "qualitative" change in the situation, Interfax quoted him as saying.
Trump weighs giving Ukraine Tomahawk missiles
US President Donald Trump said earlier this week that he wouldn’t rule out giving Kyiv access to the long-range missiles.
“I think I want to find out what they're doing with them," he said. "Where are they sending them? I guess I'd have to ask that question."
"I would ask some questions. I'm not looking to escalate that war," he added.
This would expand Ukraine's striking ability, enabling it to hit targets deep inside Russian territory, including military bases, logistics hubs, airfields, and command centers that are currently beyond reach.
Russian lawmaker Andrei Kartapolov said that if the US were to give Ukraine the Tomahawk missiles, Moscow would react severely.
“We know these missiles very well, how they fly, how to shoot them down, we worked on them in Syria, so there is nothing new," RIA cited him as saying.
"Only those who supply them and those who use them will have problems," Kartapolov said.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukrainian forces were inflicting heavy losses in a counteroffensive in eastern Donetsk region, the main theater of the more than three-and-a-half years of war in Ukraine.
Zelensky's account, based on a report by Ukraine's top commander, contrasted with Putin's address to senior Russian officers a day earlier in which he said Moscow's forces held the strategic initiative in all frontline sectors.
Zelensky, speaking in his nightly video address, said he spoke for almost an hour to top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi, with "particular attention on the Dobropillia operation, our counteroffensive." He described heavy casualties in the area.
“Since it began and to this day, the Russians have already suffered over 12,000 losses – and that’s just in the Pokrovsk and Dobropillia areas, specifically since August 21. Of those 12,000, more than 7,200 are irrecoverable losses,” Zelensky said.
This comes as some Russian officials say that newly kindled relations with the US are collapsing.
Ryabkov said that he believed that Russian-American relations are deteriorating.
“We have a kind of building of relations that has started to crack and is now collapsing. The Americans are to blame for this. The cracks have now reached the foundation,” Ryabkov stated, as reported by Russian state media.
The Kremlin also stated on Wednesday that it would no longer maintain its obligations under Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement with the United States.