Putin orders Russian forces on “nuclear deterrent alert”

In an address to the nation on Sunday, President Vladimir Putin said he was “ordering Russia’s nuclear deterrent forces on alert.” Recent sanctions, he said, and “aggressive statements” from NATO countries had led him to put those forces in “a special regime of combat duty.” His defense minister and military chief  staff were alongside Putin as he spoke. This was the second time Putin had alluded to Russia’s nuclear arsenal as a warning to the West to back off.