Kyiv, Ukraine — President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian nuclear deterrent forces to be placed on high alert Sunday in reaction to what he called "aggressive statements" by senior NATO states over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, escalating East-West tensions dramatically.
As a result of the decision, Putin has ordered Russia's nuclear weapons to be prepped for higher readiness to fire, boosting the risk of a nuclear conflict. The Russian leader also mentioned the harsh financial sanctions imposed by the West against Russia, including Putin himself, in his speech.
As Moscow's soldiers got closer to Kyiv, the office of Ukraine's president announced that a team would meet with Russian authorities
In issuing the nuclear alert directive, Putin not only alleged statements by NATO members, but also the harsh financial sanctions imposed by the West on Russia, including the Russian president himself.
During a meeting with his senior officials, Putin urged his minister and the commander of the military's General Staff to place nuclear deterrent forces on a "special regime of combat duty."
"Not only are Western countries taking hostile economic actions against our country, but top officials from prominent NATO members have made aggressive statements about our country," Putin said in a televised address.
In the days leading up to Russia's invasion, Putin warned that any country that intervened directly in Ukraine's conflict would be attacked violently, raising his country's nuclear arsenal.
The practical implications of the order were not immediately apparent. The land- and submarine-based components of Russia's and the United States' strategic nuclear forces are normally on constant alert and ready for war, but nuclear-capable bombers and other aircraft are not.
According to Hans, a nuclear analyst at the Federation of American Scientists, if Putin arms or otherwise improves the nuclear combat readiness of his bombers, or if he orders more ballistic missile submarines to sea, the US may feel obligated to respond in kind. That, he said, would be a worrying escalation and a potential crisis.
The alarming move came as street fighting erupted in Ukraine's second-largest city and Russian troops advanced into strategic ports in the country's south, advances that appeared to signal the start of a new phase of Russia's invasion following a wave of attacks on airfields and fuel facilities elsewhere in the country.
The city of Kyiv was unusually quiet after large explosions lit up the morning sky and police reported explosives at one of the airports. A strict 39-hour curfew kept people off the streets, so only the occasional car could be seen on a lonely main street. Instead, residents huddled in their homes, underground garages, and subway stations, fearful of a full-fledged Russian attack.
"The night before was difficult - more shelling, more bombing of civilian infrastructure and residential areas," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. "The occupiers would consider any facility in the country to be a good target."
According to the Kremlin, Russia dispatched a delegation to Belarus for peace talks with Ukraine in the aftermath of its successes in the city of Kharkov and other ports to the east. Other locations were suggested by Zelensky, who stated that his country did not want to meet in Belarus because it had been used as a staging area for the invasion.
Russia's troops had been stationed on the outskirts of Kharkov, a 1.4 million-person city about 20 km (12.4 miles) south of the Russian border, until Sunday, when other forces marched by to push the offensive deeper into Ukraine.
The images demonstrated the tenacious resistance Russian troops face as they attempt to invade Ukraine's major cities. Ukrainians have flocked to the capital, Kyiv, and other cities to assist in their, seizing guns from officials and making firebombs to confront Russian forces.
Massive explosions lit up the sky over Kyiv early Sunday, as terrified residents hunkered down in their homes, underground garages, and subway stations in preparation for a full-fledged Russian invasion.
Putin has not stated his long-term objectives, but Western diplomats believe he is determined to Ukraine's government and replace it with a pro-Russian state, redrawing Europe's map and resurrecting Moscow's Cold War-era power.
The pressure on strategic ports in Ukraine's south appeared to be aimed at seizing control of the country's coastline, which stretches from its western border with Romania to its eastern border with Russia. Major General Igor Konashenkov, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson.
He also claimed that Russian soldiers had taken control of an airbase near and the Azov Sea city of Kyiv. Fighting has also been reported in the vicinity of Odessa, Mykolaiv, and other Ukrainian cities.
The loss of Ukraine's access to its seaports would be disastrous for the country's economy. It may also allow Moscow to establish a land corridor to Crimea, which it annexed in 2014 and had only recently been connected to Russia by a 19-kilometer (12-mile) bridge that opened in 2018.
According to the mayor, flames erupted from an oil store near an airport, a town 23 miles south of Kyiv that has seen heavy fighting. Russian soldiers blew up a gas pipeline in Kharkiv, according to the president's office, forcing the administration to advise residents to cover their windows with moist cloth or gauze to protect themselves from the smoke.
Ukrainian military deputy commander Lt.-Gen. Yevhen Moisiuk used a confrontational tone in a letter to Russian forces.
Ukraine has been promised an additional $350 million in military aid, including anti-tank weapons, and small guns. Germany asserted that it would supply missiles and anti-tank weapons to the besieged country and would prohibit Russian jets from flying over its territory.
The United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom agreed to block "selected" Russian banks from the SWIFT global financial messaging system, which moves money between more than 11,000 banks and other financial institutions worldwide, as part of a new round of sanctions aimed at imposing a severe cost on Moscow for the invasion. They also agreed on "restrictive measures" for Russia's central bank.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced on Sunday that his country will dedicate 100 billion euros ($112.7 billion) to a special fund for its armed forces, pushing spending above 2% of GDP for the first time. Scholz stated before a special session of the Bundestag that the funds were required "to defend our freedom and democracy."
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