Video Producer: Shohini Bose
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Russia's defence ministry on Monday, 28 February, said that its nuclear missile forces, and northern and Pacific fleets are on enhanced combat duty, the Interfax news agency reported.
As per the report, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu apprised Russian President Vladimir Putin that "shifts on duty at the command posts of the Strategic Missile Forces, the Northern and Pacific Fleets, and the Long-Range Aviation Command" have started practising combat duty with reinforced personnel.
Putin, on Sunday had ordered his defence chiefs to put the country's "deterrence forces" on high alert amid tensions with the West over Ukraine. He also accused Western countries of taking "unfriendly" steps against his country.
"I order the defence minister and the chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces to put the deterrence forces of the Russian army into a special mode of combat service," Putin had said, during a televised address.
"You see that Western countries are not only unfriendly to our country in the economic sphere — I mean illegitimate sanctions," he added.
"Senior officials of leading NATO countries also allow aggressive statements against our country."
US Reacts to Russia's Nuclear Alert
Meanwhile, the United States called Putin's move a "totally unacceptable" escalation of the invasion of Ukraine.
"This is a pattern that we've seen from President Putin through the course of this conflict, which is manufacturing threats that don't exist in order to justify further aggression," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on ABC, when asked about the announcement from Moscow.
Putin's Nuclear Alert 'Dangerous,' 'Irresponsible,' Says NATO Chief
Russian President Vladimir Putin's nuclear alert is 'dangerous' and 'irresponsible', NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Sunday.
"This is dangerous rhetoric. This is a behavior that is irresponsible," Stoltenberg told CNN.
"And, of course, if you combine this rhetoric with what they're doing on the ground in Ukraine, waging war against the independent sovereign nation, conducting a full-fledged invasion of Ukraine, this adds to the seriousness of the situation," he added.
More About the Crisis
Meanwhile, the Russian and Ukrainian delegations are scheduled to meet at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border to hold negotatition talks.
As many as 352 Ukrainian civilians have been killed in the Russian onslaught, as per Ukraine. Kyiv remains in Ukrainian hands, even as fighting for the capital city continues.
Russia HAD launched an invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, after recognising Donetsk and Luhansk as "republics" independent from Ukraine.
The Russia-Ukraine crisis is Europe's largest military trouble since the Second World War.
(With inputs from AFP and Reuters.)
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