RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin ordered his defence chiefs to put the country’s nuclear “deterrence forces” on high alert on Sunday and accused the West of taking “unfriendly” steps against his country.
The order came as street fighting raged in Ukraine’s second-biggest city after Russian forces pierced through Ukrainian lines, as both sides said they were ready for talks to halt a conflict that has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.
The move is seen as an attempt on the part of the Russian Federation to keep at a check the possibility of a physical involvement of the West in the Ukrainian war as so far the United States and the European Union have relied on economic and military sanctions.
Reacting to it, the White House Press Secretary claimed that President Vladimir Putin’s order to put Russian nuclear forces on high alert is part of a pattern of Moscow manufacturing threats to justify aggression, adding that the United States is open to providing additional assistance to Ukraine.
As Russia and Ukraine delegations were to meet at Belarusian border, Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba said the order was calculated to put pressure at the start of talks but that Kyiv would not be cowed.
Whatever the motives, the threat to use nuclear weapons is a serious development and it should prompt the international community to expedite its efforts to bring the conflict to an early halt.
It is also the responsibility of the influential countries of the world not to engage in actions and policies that could, in any way, diminish the prospects for a ceasefire and peaceful resolution of the conflict.
