By Agency Report
President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russian nuclear deterrent forces to be placed on high alert, due to what he described as “aggressive statements” by Western adversaries.
The instruction means Putin has ordered Russia’s nuclear weapons prepared for heightened readiness to launch, raising the possibility the Russia-Ukraine war could escalate to a nuclear war.
During a meeting with top Russian officials, Putin directed the Russian defence minister and the chief of the military’s General Staff to put the nuclear deterrent forces in a “special regime of combat duty”.
“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 remarks.
The measure came as street fighting broke out in Ukraine’s second-largest city.
The instruction raises the possibility the Russia-Ukraine war could escalate to a nuclear war.
The startling measure came as street fighting broke out in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, as part of advances that appeared to be a part of a new phase of Russia’s invasion of its western neighbour.
Until yesterday, Russian forces had stayed on the periphery of Kharkiv, a city with a population of about 1.4 million. Russian vehicles drove across Kharkiv and troops roaming the city in small groups, videos posted on Ukrainian media and social networks showed. One video showed Ukrainian troops firing at the Russians and damaged Russian utility vehicles abandoned nearby.
It also came after the battle for Kyiv continued as the sun rose in Ukraine yesterday morning.
Kiev was quiet yesterday morning after a series of large explosions and authorities reported blasts at one of the airports. Residents attempted to take cover, hunkering down in homes, underground garages and subway stations in anticipation of dangerous assaults by Russian forces.
“The past night was tough – more shelling, more bombing of residential areas and civilian infrastructure,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. “There is not a single facility in the country that the occupiers wouldn’t consider as admissible targets.”
