Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the potential supply of long-range missiles to Ukraine would mark a "completely new stage of escalation" between Washington and Moscow.

Speaking on Thursday at a forum in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi, Putin conceded that the supply of "powerful" U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles to Kyiv posed a threat to Russia but would not change the situation on the battlefield.

"Can Tomahawks harm us? They can. But we will shoot them down and improve our air defense system," Putin said, according to an NBC translation.

"Using Tomahawks without the direct participation of American military personnel is impossible. This would mark a qualitatively new, completely new stage of escalation between Russia and the U.S.," he added.

His comments come shortly after

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