Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his military command to put Russia’s deterrence forces, a reference to units which include nuclear arms, on high alert.
Putin stated this in an address on Sunday, citing aggressive statements by NATO leaders and economic sanctions against Moscow.
“As you can see, not only do Western countries take unfriendly measures against our country in the economic dimension – I mean the illegal sanctions that everyone knows about very well – but also the top officials of leading NATO countries allow themselves to make aggressive statements with regards to our country,” Putin said on state television.
Meanwhile, talks “without preconditions” with Russian officials on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border has been announced.
“We have agreed that the Ukrainian delegation will meet with Russian [officials] without preconditions on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border,” Zelenskyy said in a statement.
He did not give a precise time for the meeting, but said Lukashenko, a Putin ally, “has taken responsibility for ensuring that all planes, helicopters and missiles stationed on Belarusian territory remain on the ground during the Ukrainian delegation’s travel, talks and return.”