While the fighting in parts of Ukraine, following the Russian invasion continue and while talks are underway in Gomel, Belarus between the two sides in the hope of finding a solution to stop the war, information from the Moscow camp... are going wild!
And this information has to do with nuclear weapons.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, according to foreign news agencies, told President Putin that his desire to put Russian nuclear deterrent forces on alert has been put into practice.
It should be noted that Russia - like the US - has a "nuclear triad", meaning it can launch nuclear weapons from land, air and sea with intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarines and strategic bombers.
What Moscow claims about Putin's nuclear request
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 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.
As Sputnik had reported, "the top officials of leading NATO countries are engaging in aggressive statements about our country. Therefore, I order the Defense Minister and the Chief of the General Staff to put the Russian army's nuclear deterrent forces in a special combat status," Vladimir Putin said, speaking at a briefing with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russia's Chief of the Army General Staff 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 with CBS's "Face the Nation."
The seriousness of the situation and the threat to Europe and global security was highlighted by European diplomacy chief Josep Borel, emphasizing the escalation from Russia, and with Putin's move to put nuclear deterrent 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 dent the country's morale. He noted that Putin's order to put nuclear deterrence on alert is a pressure strategy ahead of the talks.
Source: in.gr
Contents of this article including associated images are owned by Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source[/P]
