LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Nuclear-armed forces put on high alert by Vladimir Putin, causing condemnation and alarm.
He ordered “deterrence” forces to be on standby in response to what he described as “unfriendly” economic sanctions against Russia and “aggressive” statements from Western powers.
Military analysts say Putin may turn to more potent weaponry as a result of his incorrect assumption that the Ukrainians would crumble.
Russia utilising tactical combat nukes against Ukraine’s military, according to Britain’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, would be an “extremely serious” escalation.
President Vladimir Putin was seen on Russian state television telling his defence minister and chief of general staff to place his nuclear troops on a “special combat duty regime.”
“Western countries aren’t only taking unfriendly actions against our country in the economic sphere, but top officials from leading NATO members made aggressive statements,” he stated.
“This is dangerous rhetoric,” stated NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. This is, to put it mildly, irresponsible.
“When you combine this rhetoric with what they’re doing on the ground in Ukraine, it adds to the gravity of the situation.”
Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, accused Putin of reverting to his pre-invasion tactics of “manufacturing threats that don’t exist in order to justify further aggression.”
Ms Truss predicted that Putin would employ “the most unsavoury means” to win the Ukraine war.
She fears this fight will be very, very bloody, the Foreign Secretary added. She urges Russia not to escalate the situation, but everyone must be ready for Russia to employ even more lethal weapons.
She believes it would be disastrous. This must be avoided at all costs, she added.
The possibility of Russia utilising thermobaric “vacuum bombs,” which suck in oxygen to create a massive, high-temperature burst, has already been suggested by Western authorities.
“If they do go into that arena,” Ms Truss warned, Russian leaders might face war crimes charges.
She went on to say that if Putin was serious about a diplomatic settlement, he must pull his soldiers out of Ukraine.
“They can’t negotiate with a gun to Ukraine’s head,” Ms Truss said. She admitted on the BBC that the UK administration has failed to act to fight the Russian danger over the years.
When asked if the UK would support Ukraine’s appeal for Russia’s position on the UN Security Council to be taken away, she stated nothing is “off the table.”
Putin’s attack, which has sparked widespread protests in Russia, “may well be the beginning of the end” for him, according to Ms Truss.
Long lines have formed at cash machines as discontent grows, prompting worries of a bank run as a result of Western sanctions.
Putin, according to Tobias Ellwood, the Tory MP who chairs the Commons defence committee, may resort to “extreme” military tactics.
“We’ve seen what he did in Syria… he can surely make use of other weapons systems that haven’t been tested or that we’re not used to,” he continued. Chemical weapons are the worst-case scenario, and low-yield nuclear weapons are the worst situation.”
