Vladimir Putin has ordered Russia’s military to put its deterrence forces, which include nuclear weapons, on “high alert”.
Putin said that Western nations’ “aggressive statements” were to blame. The move has been widely condemned, with many people blaming aggressive words from the West for the escalation of tensions.
The news does not indicate that the weapons will be used.
The United States strongly condemned his decision, calling it an “unacceptable escalation.”
Last week, President Putin declared that “anyone who tries to hinder us in Ukraine will face consequences they have never seen before.”
Those were seen as a warning that North Korea would use nukes if the West got in his way.
On Sunday, he increased the pressure on them yet further when he ordered the Russian defence minister and the chief of military’s general staff to put nuclear deterrent forces on a “special regime of combat readiness.”
The EU announced a broad new series of sanctions and penalties against Russia after Mr Putin’s statement.
The measures have been taken in addition to existing Western sanctions, which include bank and individual asset freezes on key financial institutions and prominent individuals, such as Vladimir Putin.
The US ambassador to the UN stated that Mr Putin’s nuclear deterrent order demonstrated he was escalating the Ukraine conflict in an unacceptable manner.
The White House maintained that Russia had never been in danger from Nato, while Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg described Mr Putin’s remarks as “menacing rhetoric.”
The public shift to high alert is a form of communication for Moscow.
It’s possible that launching weapons more quickly is as simple as changing your status. However, it does not imply there is an existing plan to use them.
Despite having the most nuclear weapons in the world, Russia knows that if they were used, Nato would have enough to destroy it as well.
Putin, on the other hand, is unlikely to aim to intimidate Ukraine’s allies into cutting back their support for it by creating uncertainty over how far he would go and what sort of backing for Ukraine he might regard to be excessive.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian administration has agreed to hold talks with Russia at a place on the border between Ukraine and Belarus.
During a talk with Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine and Belarus had agreed to meet the Russians without prerequisites on the border near the Pripyat River.
According to Mr. Zelensky, President Lukashenko had accepted responsibility for ensuring that all aircraft, helicopters, and missiles based in Belarus remained on the ground during the Ukrainian delegation’s travel, discussions, and return.
No statements from either country have been released about any possible meetings.
According to the Ministry of Defense, several Russian personnel have been killed and wounded in Ukraine, although the losses are said to be far less than those of Ukraine.
The UN reported that at least 134 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed by Saturday. According to Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, there have been 4,300 deaths among Russian troops. Meanwhile, authorities in Ukraine claim that the numbers are not precise.
According to Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, 210 civilians have been killed.
The children are among the dead – one when a hospital for youngsters was shelled in Kyiv, and another in a Russian bombardment of a school that killed six people near the northern border at Okhtyrka.
10 ethnic Greek Ukrainians have been killed in air strikes on villages in the south-east of Ukraine, according to Greek authorities. Ten civilians were murdered in Kyiv, according to news reports.
To date, the UN has confirmed 64 civilian fatalities and many more wounded in Yemen’s civil war. The true number is expected to be much higher.