A top Russian general says the deal for the United States to put a missile defense battery in Poland "cannot go unpunished".

General Anatoly Nogovitsyn did not give specifics. But Russia has previously said it could aim missiles at any sites where missile-defense elements are deployed in Europe.

Nogovitsyn told reporters yesterday that "it's a cause for regret that at a time when we are already in a difficult situation, the American side further exacerbates the situation in relations between the United States and Russia".