Putin has put the nuclear powers on high alert, following “aggressive statements” by NATO countries and “harsh sanctions” imposed on Russia, according to Reuters.
“Senior officials of top NATO countries also allow aggressive statements against our country, so I order the Minister of Defense and the Chief of General Staff [των Ρωσικών Ενόπλων Δυνάμεων] “to transfer the deterrent forces of the Russian army to a special combat regime,” said the Russian President.
Putin: “Western countries are not only taking unfriendly economic actions against our country, but leaders of major Nato countries are making aggressive statements about our country. So I order to move Russia deterrence forces to a special regime of duty.” pic.twitter.com/AC1yHncqZc
– max seddon (@maxseddon) February 27, 2022
Putin met with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov.
It was not clear what the “special combat regime” meant. Putin has warned foreign countries not to intervene in his ongoing invasion of Ukraine, saying it could lead to “consequences they have never seen.”
It has deployed anti-aircraft missiles and other advanced missile systems in Belarus and has deployed its Black Sea Fleet in an effort to prevent Western intervention in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order to put Russia’s deterrent forces, including nuclear weapons, on alert is an unacceptable escalation, he said today. US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas Greenfield.
“It means that President Putin continues to escalate this war in a completely unacceptable way, and we must continue to halt his actions in the strongest possible way,” Greenfield said in an interview with CBS “Face the Nation.”
Russian ultimatum in Ukraine
The Russian side earlier gave Kiev a deadline to negotiate. “We are waiting until 15.00,” said the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, as reported by the Russian agency TASS.
RT reports that Moscow has sent a team to negotiate. “The Russian side is ready for talks in Gomel. “Now we are waiting for the Ukrainians,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov. He claimed that Ukraine had proposed Gomel as a venue for the summit.
Putin-Bennett talks on Russian-Ukrainian talks in Belarus
Russia’s Ria Novosti news agency reports that the Ukrainian delegation agreed to talks on Belarusian soil. Zelensky-Lukashenko had previously communicated without knowing its content.
However, an hour before the announcement, Putin in a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that Russia’s offer for talks had not been accepted by Kiev.
Soltz: “Putin’s war” threatens all of Europe
German Chancellor Olaf Solz spoke of an aggressive war by Putin that threatens the freedom and integrity not only of Ukraine but of Europe as a whole.
“It is necessary to strengthen Germany’s defense and for this an extraordinary budget of 100 billion euros will be allocated for the reinforcement of the German army,” he stressed.
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