Russia's Nuclear Missile Forces, Northern & Pacific Fleets Placed On Enhanced Combat Duty: Report

Russia's defence ministry said on Monday that its nuclear missile forces, as well as its Northern and Pacific fleets, had been placed on increased combat duty.

New Delhi: Russia's defence ministry said on Monday that its nuclear missile forces, as well as its Northern and Pacific fleets, had been placed on increased combat duty, in accordance with President Vladimir Putin's directive the day before, the Interfax news agency reported.

According to Interfax, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told Putin that "shifts on duty at the command posts of the Strategic Missile Forces, the Northern and Pacific Fleets, and the Long-Range Aviation Command began to carry out combat duty with reinforced personnel," news agency Reuters reported. 

Putin issued an order to his military leadership on Sunday to place Russia's deterrent capabilities, including nuclear weapons, on high alert, citing what he described as hostile words by NATO leaders and Western economic sanctions against Moscow.

The move sparked widespread condemnation in the West, with the United States calling it an escalation. According to a senior US defence source, the country is "putting forces in play that, if there is a miscalculation, could make things much, much more hazardous."

It happened as Russian soldiers encountered stiff Ukrainian opposition after invading the nation last week in what Putin billed as a unique military operation to demilitarise the country.

Putin has justified the invasion by claiming that "neo-Nazis" dominate Ukraine and pose a security danger to Russia, an allegation Kyiv and Western nations deny.

(With Reuters Inputs)