The directive to put Russia’s nuclear weapons in an increased state of readiness for launch raised fears that the crisis could boil over into nuclear warfare, whether by design or mistake.
Amid the mounting tensions, Ukraine announced that a delegation would meet with Russian officials for talks.
The fast-moving developments came as Russian troops drew closer to Kiev, a city of almost 3 million, street fighting broke out in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, and strategic ports in the country’s south came under pressure from the Russian forces.
Putin, in giving the nuclear alert directive, cited not only statements by NATO members but the hard-hitting financial sanctions imposed by the West against Russia, including the Russian leader himself.
Speaking at a meeting with his top officials, Putin told his defense minister and the chief of the military’s General Staff to put nuclear forces in a “special regime of combat duty.”
“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 regarding our country,” Putin said in televised comments.
U.S. defense officials would not disclose their current nuclear posture, except to say that the military is prepared all times to defend its homeland and allies.
“We have the ability to defend ourselves, but we also need to call out what we’re seeing here,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told ABC’s “This Week”.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told CNN, in reaction to Russia’s nuclear alert: “This is dangerous rhetoric. This is a behavior which is irresponsible.”
Russia and the United States typically have land- and submarine-based nuclear forces on alert and prepared for combat at all times, but nuclear-capable bombers and other aircraft are not.
If Putin is arming or otherwise raising the nuclear combat readiness of his bombers, or if he is ordering more ballistic missile submarines to sea, then the United States might feel compelled to respond in kind, said Hans Kristensen, a nuclear analyst at the Federation of American Scientists. That would mark a worrisome escalation, he said.
“Things could spiral out of control,” said Max Bergmann, a former State Department official and now a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.
Around the same time as Putin’s nuclear move, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office said on the Telegram messaging app that the two sides would meet at an
unspecified location on the Belarusian border. The message did not give a precise time for the meeting.
Ukrainian officials initially rejected the holding of talks in Belarus, saying any discussions should take place elsewhere, since Belarus has allowed its territory to be used by Russian troops as a staging ground for the invasion.
Earlier Sunday, the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, was eerily quiet after huge explosions lit up the morning sky and authorities reported blasts at one of the airports. Authorities warned that anyone venturing out with a pass would be considered a Russian saboteur.
Terrified residents instead hunkered down in homes, underground garages and subway stations in anticipation of a full-scale Russian assault.
Until Sunday, Russia’s troops had remained on the outskirts of Kharkiv, a city of 1.4 million about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) south of the border with Russia, while other forces rolled past to press the offensive deeper into Ukraine.
Videos posted on Ukrainian media and social networks showed Russian vehicles moving across Kharkiv and Russian troops roaming the city in small groups. One showed Ukrainian troops firing at the Russians and damaged Russian vehicles abandoned nearby.
Ukraine is also releasing prisoners with military experience who want to fight for the country, authorities said.
Putin hasn’t disclosed his ultimate plans, but Western officials believe he is determined to overthrow Ukraine’s government.
The pressure on strategic ports in the south of Ukraine appeared aimed at seizing control of the country’s coastline. A Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, said Russian forces had blocked the cities of Kherson on the Black Sea and the port of Berdyansk on the Azov Sea.
He said the Russian forces also took control of an airbase near Kherson and the Azov Sea city of Henichesk. Ukrainian authorities also reported fighting near Odesa, Mykolaiv and other areas.
Cutting Ukraine’s access to its sea ports would deal a major blow to the country’s economy. It could also allow Moscow to build a land corridor to Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014 and until now was connected to Russia by a 19-kilometer (12-mile) bridge.
Reports said Russian troops attacked oil and gas facilities in the Ukrainian town of Vasylkiv southwest of Kiev, sparking huge explosions and setting an oil terminal ablaze.
Photographs and videos posted online showed large flames rising into the sky, with the authorities warning residents to be on alert for toxic fumes.
Pro-Russia separatists in Lugansk said an oil terminal was blown up by a Ukrainian missile in the town of Rovenky.
The number of casualties from Europe’s largest land conflict since World War II remained unclear amid the fog of combat.
Ukraine’s UN ambassador, Sergiy Kyslytsya, tweeted Saturday that Ukraine appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross “to facilitate repatriation of thousands of bodies of Russian soldiers.” An accompanying chart claimed 3,500 Russian troops have been killed.
The UN refugee agency said Sunday that about 368,000 Ukrainians have arrived in neighboring countries since the offensive started Thursday. The UN has estimated the conflict could produce as many as 4 million refugees.
The West is working to equip the outnumbered Ukrainian forces with weapons and ammunition while punishing Russia with far-reaching sanctions intended to further isolate Moscow.
Over the weekend, the U.S. pledged an additional $350 million in military assistance to Ukraine, including anti-tank weapons, body armor and small arms. Germany said it would send missiles and anti-tank weapons.
The U.S., European Union and Britain also agreed to block selected Russian banks from the SWIFT global financial messaging system, which moves money around more than 11,000 banks and other financial institutions worldwide. They also agreed to impose restrictive measures on Russia’s central bank.
Putin sent troops into Ukraine after building up a force of almost 200,000 troops along the country’s borders. He says the West has failed to take seriously Russia’s security concerns about NATO, the Western military alliance that Ukraine aspires to join.
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