Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Sunday that he was alerting the “deterrentof the Russian military, which may include a nuclear component, on the fourth day of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“I order the Minister of Defense and the Chief of Staff to put the deterrent forces of the Russian army on special combat alert“, said Mr. Putin during an interview with his military leaders broadcast on television.
“It’s understood“, agreed the Minister of Defense, Sergei Shoigu.
Mr. Putin justified this decision by the “bellicose declarations of NATO“towards Russia. He also criticized the economic sanctions taken against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, according to him”illegitimate“.
The Russian deterrent forces are a set of units whose purpose is to deter an attack on Russia, “including in the event of war involving the use of nuclear weapons“, according to the Ministry of Defense.
These forces are equipped with missiles, strategic bombers, submarines and surface ships. On the defensive side, they include an anti-missile shield, space control systems, anti-aircraft and anti-satellite defense.