Iran Press/ Europe: "Top officials of leading NATO countries make aggressive statements about our country, so I order the defense minister and the chief of the General Staff to put the Russian army's deterrence forces o a special mode of combat duty," Putin said during a meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff Valery Gerasimov.
It is not immediately clear what the “special mode of combat duty” entailed. Putin has warned foreign countries not to interfere in the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, saying it could lead to “consequences they have never seen.”
Putin has positioned anti-air missiles and other advanced missile systems in Belarus and deployed his fleet to the Black Sea in an effort to prevent a western intervention in Ukraine.
The president noted that Western countries are undertaking unfriendly actions against Russia in the economic field as well.
"I am referring to illegitimate sanctions, of which everyone is well aware," Putin said.
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Russia: Ukraine agrees to hold talks in Belarus
