For the past week, all eyes have been on Ukraine as Russian forces continue to rain down on the country. However, the war took a turn for the worse on 27 February, when Putin leaned towards the nuclear option.
In a dramatic escalation of tensions, Putin ordered Russian nuclear deterrent forces to be put in a “special regime of combat duty”. He justified this move as a response to the “illegal sanctions” and “aggressive statements” from NATO countries.
And these searing sanctions are already showing their impact, with the Russian central bank more than doubling its interest rate and the Russian ruble crashing to its lowest trade to the dollar at 119.
Five days into the invasion, it is apparent that things are not going Russia’s way, with the countries ministry of defence own report admitting no major victories. The main reason for this has been the resistance of the Ukrainian army, which has been further bolstered by civilians volunteers.