Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has told Russian President Vladimir Putin that his order to put the Russian nuclear deterrent forces on alert has been carried out.

Russian nuclear forces are ready and new orders are expected.

It should be noted that Russia – like the US – has a “nuclear triad“, i. e. it can launch nuclear weapons from land, air and sea with intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarines and strategic bombers.

Putin had called for Russia‘s nuclear forces to be put on high alert following aggressive statements by NATO member states, as reported by the Guardian, citing Reuters.

In a meeting with Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of Staff General Valery Gerasimov, Putin stressed that the West is not only making unfriendly moves in the economic sphere, but NATO leaders are making aggressive statements against Russia.

As Sputnik had reported, “the top officials of leading NATO countries are making aggressive statements about our country. Therefore, I order the Minister of Defence and the Chief of the General Staff to put the nuclear deterrent forces of the Russian army in a special combat status,” Vladimir Putin said, speaking at a briefing with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Army, Valery Gerasimov.

Strong reactions

The US, through its ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, described this development as an unacceptable escalation.

This means “that President Putin continues to escalate this war in an absolutely unacceptable way, and we must continue to stop his actions in the strongest possible way,” Greenfield said in an interview on CBS‘s “Face the Nation. ”

The seriousness of the situation and the threat to Europe and to global security was highlighted by European diplomatic chief Josep Borel, emphasising the escalation by Russia and Putin‘s move to put nuclear weapons on high alert.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, responding to questions about nuclear attacks, said that if Ukraine were attacked with nuclear weapons it would be a “catastrophe“, but said it would not dampen the country‘s morale. He noted that Putin‘s order to put nuclear deterrence on alert is a pressure strategy ahead of the talks.