Russian President Vladimir Putin has put his nuclear deterrent forces on a higher alert status amid the invasion of Ukraine.
Putin took this action on Sunday during a televised statement with top Russian officials. He directed Russia’s defense minister and the chief of the military’s General Staff to get the country’s nuclear deterrent forces ready.
These forces will undergo a “special regime of combat duty,” Putin said. The actions are driven by economic sanctions and “aggressive statements” made by NATO countries. The United States and several of its NATO allies have laid out several sanctions on Russian banks and officials, severely restricting their economic and international activity.
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This is the second time Putin has threatened to use nuclear force amid the invasion of Ukraine. Putin made veiled threats referring to nuclear missiles in the first 24 hours of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, stating that any NATO country that gets directly involved would face “such consequences that you have never encountered in your history.” While Putin did not directly name nuclear weaponry in his address, many foreign experts suspect that the Russian president was referring to nuclear weapons.
Putin’s actions occur simultaneously with a United Nations nuclear watchdog announcing an emergency meeting to discuss the Ukraine situation on March 2. The meeting will likely discuss the ongoing threat, as well as the safety status of several nuclear plants located in Ukraine. The Chernobyl power plant was captured and reportedly damaged by Russian forces.
“President Putin is continuing to escalate this war in a manner that is totally unacceptable,” Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in response to the news, according to the Associated Press. “And we have to continue to condemn his actions in the most strong, strongest possible way.”
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Ukrainian forces continue to hold the two major cities of Kharkiv and Kyiv as the invasion intensifies. Troops from Russia have been seen pushing into Kharkiv, but it remains under Ukrainian control. Russians have been surprised by the strength of Ukraine’s air defense, according to Pentagon officials. Ukrainian officials have also begun recruiting foreigners to help them push back against the invasion.
Ukraine and Russia have both agreed to send representatives to the Belarusian border to discuss the potential for peace. While President Volodymyr Zelensky was initially hesitant to send representatives, both parties have agreed to meet without preconditions to discuss viable options. No dates or times have been set.
