Putin orders nuclear forces on high alert

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday ordered his military command to place units that include nuclear weapons on high alert. Putin cited “aggressive statements” by NATO leaders and economic sanctions against Moscow as an argument.

“As you can see, not only do Western countries take hostile measures against our country in the economic dimension – I mean the illegal sanctions that everyone knows all too well – but also the top officials of the main NATO countries allow themselves to make aggressive statements towards our country. ,” Putin said on state television.

In response to the decision, a senior White House official said putting deterrent forces on combat alert is “another escalating step and totally unnecessary.”

“At every step of this conflict, Putin has fabricated threats to justify more aggressive actions – he has never been threatened by Ukraine or by NATO, which is a defensive alliance that will not fight in Ukraine,” the official said.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Jens Stoltenbergda called the decision “dangerous rhetoric”.

“This is dangerous rhetoric. This is behavior that is irresponsible. And, of course, when you combine that rhetoric with what they are doing in Ukraine — waging war against an independent, sovereign nation, conducting a full-scale invasion of Ukraine — it adds to the gravity of the situation,” Stoltenberg said on the “State of the Republic” program. union” of CNN.

“This is the reason why we both support Ukraine, but also because in the last few weeks and months we have significantly increased the NATO presence in the eastern part of the Alliance, the US, but also the European allies, are now stepping up with more troops, more ships, more planes, and because we also have to realize that we are now faced with a new normal for our security,” added Stoltenbergda.

*With information from Arlette Saenz and Allegra Goodwin of CNN