Vladimir Putin has launched a harsh response to the sanctions of NATO and European allies in recent hours for his invasion of Ukraine. The Russian president announced this Sunday the establishment of a “special service regime“to its strategic deterrence forces, which includes its assets nuclearin response to what he qualifies as “aggressive statements” of NATO leaders.
“I order the Minister of Defense (Sergei Shoigu) and the Chief of the General Staff (Valeri Gerasimov) to transfer the deterrence forces of the Russian Army to a special combat service regimen“, said Putin, who has taken the opportunity to criticize what he considers as “illegitimate” sanctions from the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada, which have decided to leave some Russian banks out of the SWIFT system.
“Western countries are not only hostile to our country in the economic field, and by this I mean the illegitimate sanctionsbut high officials of the main NATO countries also allow themselves aggressive statements against our country,” Putin questioned.
These strategic deterrent forces are the same forces that carried out exercises in Belarus just before the invasion of Ukraine. During these exercises, Russian forces launched the intercontinental ballistic missile RS-24 Yars, as well as cruise missiles from Tu-95ms long-range strategic missile carriers, which hit targets in Pemboi and Kura. Furthermore, from the waters of the Barents Sea, a strategic nuclear submarine of the Northern Fleet ‘Karelia’ has also launched a Sineva model ballistic missile.
Source: Lasexta
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