Vladimir Putin backs Donald Trump for Nobel Peace Prize - but with a catch

Vladimir Putin has said Russia is behind the honour for the US president but only if he does not supply deadly long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. Donald Trump is currently considering such a deployment as a means of forcing Mr Putin to the negotiating table.

The Russian despot's trusted chief foreign affairs aide, Yury Ushakov, was asked if Moscow backed the Nobel Peace Prize for Trump after his success in halting the war in Gaza."I think, at this point, it would - if we were asked," said the Kremlin official. Of course, what's surprising - I'd even say foolish - is [Volodymyr] Zelensky's remark that Ukraine could lobby in favour of awarding Trump the Nobel Prize," he added. "If Trump sells Tomahawks... that would mean a Peace Prize for providing weapons. "The very idea is monstrous.

"If people think in such categories, it says a lot about what sort of people they are," he added.

Mr Putin's man waded in after Trump said he was increasing pressure on Russia to reach a peace agreement with Ukraine. He saw hope of talks, telling reporters: "I think they'll be coming to the table pretty soon."

But he is considering supplying Ukraine with Tomahawks - a long-range, all-weather, jet-powered, subsonic cruise missile costing up to £3 million each - currently used by the US, Britain, and Australia. They have a range of around 1,500 miles and could reach deep into Russia.

This follows Putin carrying on the war despite Trump's calls to end it.

Today, Russia has staged huge strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure - triggering mass power outages and hitting civilians as the cold winter approaches. Putin's strikes also killed a seven-year-old boy.

The Russian dictator has already said that a Tomahawk supply chain to Ukraine would destroy his relations with Trump. "This will lead to the destruction of our relations, at least the positive trends that had begun in these relations," said Putin. "So I say what I think.

"And how things will turn out depends not only on us and not only on me."