Moscow has described the overnight coalition operation in Syria as “a flagrant violation of international law” and has promised “consequences.” But while the official reaction was loud, it was also markedly measured.

In a statement issued on Saturday morning, Russian president Vladimir Putin described the strike as "an aggressive action." Russia condemned the attack "in the most serious of terms," the statement read.

Konstantin Kosachyov, the influential head of the Federation Council’s Council on International relations said that the attack was “an unjustified attack on a sovereign state.” Its aim was to complicate the mission of international inspectors, he said, due to begin their work investigating the site of an alleged chemical weapons attack in Douma, near Damascus. This line was repeated several times on state television broadcasts.

But, Mr Kosachyov added, now was “not a time for emotions.” Russia’s reaction should instead be guided “by the professional evaluation of military specialists”

Those military specialists seemed to put clear blue water between Russia and the coalition operation. In statements that will reassure Washington — which emphasised targets had been chosen away from Russian infrastructure — the Russian Ministry of Defence said it had consciously not engaged its own defence systems. “None of the missiles landed in any of the areas under the responsibility of Russian air defence systems in Tartus and Khmeimime," it said in a statement.

Syrian sources also emphasised that Russia had warned them in advance of the likelihood of air attacks, and had evacuated all military installations. According to Reuters, their air defences managed to shoot down a third of the coalition missiles — a much better success rate than 2017 Shayrat missile strike, when almost all of 59 US Tomahawk missiles landed.



At a press conference later in the morning, the Russian Ministry of Defence claimed Syrian air defences had intercepted 71 of 103 cruise missiles fired by coalition forces.

Maria Zakharova, the excitable spokesperson of Russia’s Foreign Ministry said that the West “claimed “moral leadership” but “had struck a blow to the capital of a sovereign state.” The coalition had, she said, had attacked “just at a time when Syria held the chance of a peaceful future.”

Syria air strikes: US, UK and France joint military action Show all 21 1 /21 Syria air strikes: US, UK and France joint military action Syria air strikes: US, UK and France joint military action A picture released by the French Defence audiovisual communication and production unit (ECPAD) shows the launching of a cruise missile from a French military vessel in the Mediterranean sea towards targets in Syria overnight. The United States, France and Britain carried out a wave of punitive strikes against Bashar al-Assad's Syrian regime in the early hours of April 14 in response to alleged chemical weapons attacks. AFP/Getty Syria air strikes: US, UK and France joint military action Rafale warplanes being prepared for take off at the Saint-Dizier aerial military base, eastern France. Media reports state that the United States, France and Britain launched military strikes in Syria to punish President Bashar Assad for an apparent chemical attack against civilians and to deter him from doing it again. EPA Syria air strikes: US, UK and France joint military action Damascus skies erupt with missile fire as the US launches an attack on Syria targeting different parts of the capital. President Donald Trump announced airstrikes in retaliation for the country's alleged use of chemical weapons. AP Syria air strikes: US, UK and France joint military action A map show the location of the air strikes carried out by the US-led coalition in Syria overnight. US Department of Defense Syria air strikes: US, UK and France joint military action The wreckage of a building described as part of the Scientific Studies and Research Centre compound in the Barzeh district, north of Damascus. AFP/Getty Syria air strikes: US, UK and France joint military action Royal Air Force tornado jets take off in the early hours from RAF Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus to conduct air strikes in Syria. Four Tornado jets fired Storm Shadow missiles "at a military facility -- a former missile base -- some 15 miles (24 kilometres) west of Homs, where the regime is assessed to keep chemical weapon precursors," the defence ministry said in a statement. AFP/Getty Syria air strikes: US, UK and France joint military action Map of where the air strikes hit in Syria released by the Pentagon. A Syrian military statement says the US, Britain and France fired 110 missiles during a joint attack on targets in Damascus and outside. Pentagon Syria air strikes: US, UK and France joint military action A photo released on the Twitter page of Hezbollah's "Central War Media" account shows night footage of flares above Damascus seen through a night-vision device as Western strikes reportedly hit Syrian military bases and chemical research centres in and around Syria's capital. US, France, and Britain announced the joint operation. AFP/Getty Syria air strikes: US, UK and France joint military action The preliminary damage assessment of Barzah research and development centre before and after the air strikes, released by the Pentagon. Pentagon Syria air strikes: US, UK and France joint military action The preliminary damage assessment of Him Shinshar chemical weapons bunker before the air strikes. Pentagon Syria air strikes: US, UK and France joint military action The preliminary damage assessment of Him Shinshar chemical weapons bunker after the air strikes. Pentagon Syria air strikes: US, UK and France joint military action The wreckage of a building described as part of the Scientific Studies and Research Centre compound in the Barzeh district, north of Damascus. AFP/Getty Syria air strikes: US, UK and France joint military action The wreckage of a building described as part of the Scientific Studies and Research Centre compound in the Barzeh district, north of Damascus. AFP/Getty Syria air strikes: US, UK and France joint military action The wreckage of a building described as part of the Scientific Studies and Research Centre compound in the Barzeh district, north of Damascus. AFP/Getty Syria air strikes: US, UK and France joint military action The preliminary damage assessment of Him Shinshar chemical weapons storage site before and after the air strikes, released by the Pentagon. Pentagon Syria air strikes: US, UK and France joint military action The preliminary damage assessment of Him Shinshar chemical weapons storage site before the air strikes. Pentagon Syria air strikes: US, UK and France joint military action The preliminary damage assessment of Him Shinshar chemical weapons storage site after the air strikes. Pentagon Syria air strikes: US, UK and France joint military action A British military Typhoon aircraft lands at the Sovereign Base Area (SBA) of Akrotiri, a British overseas territory located ten kilometres west of the southern Cypriot port city of Limassol, following US, British and French strikes on Syria. Syrian state media slammed Western strikes on Saturday as illegal and "doomed to fail," after the US, Britain and France launched a joint operation against the Damascus.government. Huge blasts were reported around the Syrian capital, moments after the three Western governments announced they were striking Syria's chemical weapons capabilities. AFP/Getty Images Syria air strikes: US, UK and France joint military action The preliminary damage assessment of Him Shinshar chemical weapons bunker before and after the air strikes, released by the Pentagon. Pentagon Syria air strikes: US, UK and France joint military action The preliminary damage assessment of Him Shinshar chemical weapons bunker before the air strikes. Pentagon Syria air strikes: US, UK and France joint military action The preliminary damage assessment of Him Shinshar chemical weapons bunker after the air strikes. Pentagon

Russia’s ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov also said that “actions would not be without consequences.”

But the statements seemed many notches down from earlier angry rhetoric — including yesterday’s claims the UK had itself staged the chemical attack itself.