Russia puts nuclear forces on alert amid Ukraine crisis

CGTN | 29-May-2022

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russia’s deterrence forces – a reference to units which include nuclear arms – on high alert in response to measures taken against his military operation in Ukraine. “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 – but also the top officials of leading NATO countries allow themselves to make aggressive statements with regards to our country,” Putin said on state television.

As he told his military to enter neighboring Ukraine on Thursday, Putin had warned third parties not to intervene. “Whoever tries to interfere with us, and even more so to create threats to our country, to our people, should know that Russia’s response will be immediate and will lead you to such consequences as you have never experienced in your history,” he said in his speech.

NATO has insisted it will not send combat forces to Ukraine but has continued to supply weapons to the country. European and other western nations have also offered financial and other support to Kyiv while imposing sanctions on Russian banks and officials, including Putin himself. NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said Putin’s latest declaration was “irresponsible.”

The U.S. accused Putin of distorting the situation.

“At no point has Russia been under threat from NATO, has Russia been under threat from Ukraine. This is all a pattern from President Putin and we’re going to stand up to it. We have the ability to defend ourselves, but we also need to call out what we’re seeing here from President Putin,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on ABC’s “This Week”.