The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has taken another dramatic turn a President Vladimir Putin has ordered his country nuclear deterrent forces to be on high alert.
Putin’s latest war tactic is currently jangling more nerves in Europe, already imperilled by the Russian invasion.
“This is dangerous rhetoric. This is a behavior which is irresponsible,” the alliance’s secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg told CNN amid heightened tensions across Europe.
The Putin’s order came at a meeting between the president, the defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, and the chief of the general staff of the armed forces of Russia, Valery Gerasimov.
Putin who made this declaration on Sunday said it was in response to the ‘aggressive statements’ made by The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
He also cited hard-hitting financial sanctions imposed by the West against Russia.
The move means Putin has ordered Russia’s nuclear weapons prepared for increased readiness to launch, raising the threat that the tensions could boil over into a nuclear war.
“As you can see, not only do Western countries take unfriendly measures against our country in the economic dimension – I mean the illegal sanctions that everyone knows about very well.
“Western countries aren’t only taking unfriendly actions against our country in the economic sphere, but top officials from leading NATO members made aggressive statements regarding our country,” Putin said in televised comments.
Recall that Putin, in a televised press conference had declared a special military operation, warning foreign countries not to interfere in his invasion of Ukraine, saying it could lead to “consequences they have never seen”.
