In a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of Staff General Valery Gerasimov, Putin stressed that not only is the West making unfriendly moves in the economic sphere, but leaders of NATO member states are making aggressive statements against Russia.
"Senior officials of the leading NATO countries are also allowing aggressive statements against our country, so I order the Defense Minister and the Chief of the General Staff [OF THE RUSSIAN ARMED FORCES] to transfer the Russian army's deterrence forces to a special state of combat duty," Putin said in the statement, which was reported by the Russian state news agency TASS.
So far it is not clear what this "special status" the Russian president referred to means for his country's nuclear forces. Putin has warned foreign countries not to interfere in his ongoing invasion of Ukraine, saying it could lead to "consequences never seen before." He has deployed anti-aircraft missiles and other advanced missile systems in Belarus and deployed his fleet in the Black Sea in an attempt to prevent a Western intervention in Ukraine.
Olaf Scholz announces mammoth arms buildup in Germany
Earlier, Olaf Scholz from the floor of the German parliament pressed the threat of new sanctions on Russia, declaring that Putin's "war" is against the free world and announcing a massive arms program and defense cooperation with France.
"It is our obligation not to extend Putin's war to Europe. The Russian president must not undercut our resolve in Europe and NATO. We are very serious. He must not doubt our resolve at all. The German Federal Army will support the NATO countries, Latvia, Romania. We will take part in a new NATO force in Slovakia. We are sending ships to secure the Mediterranean and the Baltic Sea, we will defend the airspace of our allies," said Scholz.
Scholz announced a 100 billion euro arms program for Germany
[BR][BR]Anyone who saw Putin's speech on the attack on Ukraine cannot have the slightest doubt that he wants to set up a Russian empire. We must ask ourselves what we must do to face this threat today and in the future, We must invest more in the security of the country, to defend democracy. We are talking about a great national mobilisation. We need ships, aircraft and capable soldiers, and we will do it. But this costs, of course, a lot of money. But a special fund will be set up to support the German army, which will be supported with 100 billion euros.
All threats, of course, are not dealt with by the army. That is why we will be vigilant about cyber attacks and those on communications systems. We will build the next generation of warplanes and ships together with France, and we will continue to work together to build the Eurofighter. We will advance the cooperation system for the construction of drones.
Looking at Germany's dependence on Russian natural gas, Olaf Scholz also referred to the need to vigorously promote renewable energy sources, to store larger quantities of natural gas and to build two terminals for liquefied natural gas. "What is now necessary in the short term must be combined with what is needed in the long term," he explained."
Concluding his speech, the Chancellor referred to those who took to the streets of German cities to proclaim their opposition to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. "I want to thank all those who are taking a stand against Putin's war. We will defend Europe and our values," he said to applause.
Source: iefimerida.gr
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