Putin asks army to sharpen nuclear deterrents: “Intimidation” | Instagram VTM NEWS

Read all about the war between Russia and Ukraine in this file†

Putin announced on Sunday that he is putting the Russian military’s “dissuasion force” on alert. It may include a nuclear component. “I order the Defense Minister and the Chief of General Staff to put the Russian army’s dissuasive forces in a special state of readiness for combat,” he said concretely in an interview with his army chiefs broadcast on Russian state television.

“Got it,” Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu nodded in agreement.

Putin justified the decision with “NATO’s bellicose statements” against Russia. He also criticized economic sanctions against Russia, which he says are “illegal”.

Putin has accused the West of taking “unfriendly steps” against his country since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “As you can see, not only have Western countries taken unfriendly measures against our country in the economic field, but top officials from leading NATO countries have allowed themselves to come up with aggressive statements against our country,” Putin said in his speech.

US envoy to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, immediately condemned Putin’s order. “The order means that President Putin continues to unacceptably continue the escalation of this war and we must continue to fight his actions in the strongest possible way,” she said in an interview with US news channel CBS.

The Russian deterrent forces are a group of units designed to deter an attack on Russia, “including in the event of a war using nuclear weapons,” according to the Russian Defense Ministry. The troops are equipped with missiles, strategic bombers, submarines and ships. On the defensive front, they have an anti-missile shield, space control systems, anti-aircraft defenses, and anti-satellite systems.

Former colonel and defense specialist Roger Housen speaks in a first short response to our editors about “intimidation” of Russia. Putin will not actually use his nuclear weapons. “If he does use them, this will be the end of his regime and he will have the entire West against him,” Housen said. The former colonel explains that just like in the United States, in addition to the Russian president, two others (including a top man at Defense) have the nuclear codes.