Putin Readies the Nukes; Does the West Care? By James Reed
It seems to be getting worse by the day, far more of a threat now than the Cuban missile crisis. Putin has threatened to use nuclear weapons for some time, if Russia faces an existential threat. That is not explicitly defined, but it seems that Putin is now moving to view NATOs continuous supply of weapons to the Ukraine as participation in the war. There is talk of NATO moving nuclear weapons to the Ukraine, and mouthpieces for Putin have said that this will result in Russia launching a first strike. That will be a bad day for all.
“Russian President Vladimir Putin will threaten strikes against North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member nations over their support for Ukraine, predicted Russia Today (RT) editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan.
Putin has found himself with increasingly strained relations with other European leaders amid the Russia-Ukraine war. Much of the West condemned the invasion, which was launched last February, as lacking justification and a violation of international norms.
Many allies have offered Kyiv billions of dollars in military aid and are credited with helping turn the tide of the war in favor of the Ukrainians. Russia has reacted with anger to this aid, accusing NATO of crossing red lines by providing Ukraine with weapons, some of which has now allegedly been used within Russian borders.
Simonyan said in a new interview that she believes Putin will soon give NATO an "ultimatum" over its aid to Ukraine, adding that the West giving the war-torn country weapons for free "constitutes participation in the war."
"One morning we'll wake up to find out that last night Vladimir Putin has declared an ultimatum, saying that if F-16 jets taking off from the airfields of such countries continue striking Russian territory—if such and such weapons, shipped from the ports of such and such countries, continue being supplied, then we will consider these airfields and these ports legitimate war targets," Simonyan said.
https://www.theblaze.com/news/vladimir-putin-nuclear-deterrence-forces-russia?fr=operanews
“Vladimir Putin has ordered his military command to put Russia's nuclear deterrence forces on high alert on Sunday as tensions with the West escalate over the invasion of Ukraine.
Putin blamed "aggressive statements" by NATO members and hard-hitting economic sanctions against Moscow as the reason for increasing Russia's preparedness to launch nuclear weapons.
"Western countries aren't only taking unfriendly actions against our country in the economic sphere, but top officials from leading NATO members made aggressive statements regarding our country," Putin said on state television, according to the Associated Press.
"Senior officials of the leading Nato countries also allow aggressive statements against our country, therefore I order the minister of defense and the chief of the general staff [of the Russian armed forces] to transfer the deterrence forces of the Russian army to a special mode of combat duty," Putin added in the appearance with top Russian military officials.
The order came at a meeting between the president, the defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, and the chief of the general staff of the armed forces of Russia, Valery Gerasimov, the Guardian reported.
At the meeting, Putin ordered his top military command to put the nuclear deterrent forces in a "special regime of combat duty."”
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