IRIA News

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered to introduce a “special service regime” in the deterrence force of the Russian army and placed nuclear force on high alert in response to “unfriendly economic actions” and the “aggressive” rhetoric against Moscow.

The Russian president made a statement during a meeting with his Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu in the Kremlin, which was held to discuss the Russian special military operation in Ukraine.

During the meeting, Putin said, “Top officials in NATO’s leading countries have been making aggressive statements against our country. For this reason, I give orders to the defense minister and chief of the General Staff to introduce a special combat duty regime in the Russian army’s deference forces.”

“I am referring to the illegitimate sanctions, which are very well-known to everybody,” the Russian president added.

Russian Nuclear Forces Project Director at the UN Institute for Disarmament Research Pavel Podvig told Kommersant newspaper that “Most likely, we are talking about bringing the control system of nuclear forces into a state that makes deterrence forces more stable in the event of an attack. Overall, once a containment force has been brought to this point, it becomes less vulnerable to a first strike, be it decapitation or disarmament. However, this does not mean that Russia is going to attack first.”

The Russian strategic deterrence forces’ main task is to counter aggression against Russia and its close allies by using different weapons and military options, including nuclear weapons, to destroy its enemies in a war.

The nuclear force is comprised of the Strategic Offensive Force (SOF) and Strategic Defensive Force (SDF). According to the Russian news agency Tass, “the strategic nuclear potential constitutes the backbone of the SOF, armed with intercontinental missiles and aircraft, including high accuracy long-range weapons. The strategic nuclear potential includes the Strategic Missile Force. The SOF also includes the strategic conventional dual-purpose force – strategic and long-range bombers and also submarines, surface ships, and naval missile-carrying naval aircraft carrying high-accuracy long-range weapons.”

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on February 28 that “NATO’s experiments and the deafening silence of the Western public” are the main reasons behind the humanitarian and political disaster in Europe. “An end was to be put to this, since the West refused to conduct any negotiations whatsoever and welcomed aggressive statements and direct threats of Kiev puppets towards Russia,” she added.

Zakharova criticized the West for the situation in Ukraine by saying, “Where were all these countries and their public during these eight years that the war continued, and how did they condemn the killing of at least 13,000 people [in Donbas] throughout these years?”

In response to the Russian president’s move, the United Nations called the use of nuclear weapons “inconceivable”. According to the Ukrainian government, the Russian move is part of an intimidation tactic as both sides are set to hold peace talks in Belarus.

According to a senior U.S. defense official, Russian President Putin is “potentially putting in play forces that, if there’s a miscalculation, could make things much, much more dangerous.”

Nuclear proliferation expert at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy Marc Finaud believes that Russia can launch its nuclear weapons “within 10 minutes” of order. “Either the warheads are already mounted on missiles, or the bombs are already aboard” Russian submarines and bombers, Finaud added.

Director of Nuclear Information Project at Federation of American Scientists Hans Kristensen posted on his Twitter on February 27: “Since Russian strategic forces are always on alert, the real question is whether [Putin] has deployed more subs or armed the bombers.”

Putin’s decision comes as the Russian armed forces are facing strong resistance from Ukrainian defending forces. Although Russian forces have made advances across the country, Ukrainian forces have so far repelled the attacks and slowed down the invading troops.

Russia’s former Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Fedorov told Al Jazeera on February 27 that Russian President Putin initially ordered to “complete the military operation with a victory by March 2”.

Last week, the Russian president called on the Ukrainian military to lay down its arms. Addressing the Ukrainian servicemen, Putin urged: “Do not perform their unlawful orders! I urge you to immediately disarm and go home. To make it clear: all servicemen of the Ukrainian army that will fulfill this demand will be able to freely leave the zone of combat action and return to their families. All the responsibility for possible bloodshed will be entirely on conscience of the regime ruling in the territory of Ukraine.”

Putin also warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action in Ukraine would lead to “consequences they have never seen in history”.