Putin puts nuclear deterrence on alert, NATO reinforces its forces, Europe punishes Russia

 After the two-hour deadline given by his country to negotiate expired, Russian President Vladimir Putin considered on Sunday that Ukraine had not used the appropriate opportunity and called to sit at the negotiating table.

 Russia prepares nuclear deterrent forces

 Amid an unprecedented escalation of tension between Moscow and the West over the Russian military action in Ukraine, Russian Putin has ordered to put the nuclear deterrent forces, referring to units that include nuclear weapons, on high alert.

 Putin asked the Russian Defense Minister and the Chief of the Army's General Staff to place all nuclear deterrent forces within a "special regime for combat service."

 Washington: Putin fabricates threats to justify a new attack

 On the other hand, the WH responded to this step, considering that Putin's request to put the nuclear forces on alert, came in order to justify any attack.

 White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki stressed that NATO did not threaten Russia, saying that the Russian president "fabricates threats" to put the nuclear "deterrence force" on alert, and justify his "aggressions."

 NATO warns of the seriousness of the situation and sends thousands of anti-tank and aircraft

 Commenting on Russian President Vladimir Putin's request earlier today to put the nuclear deterrent forces on alert, the NATO on Sunday considered Putin's decision "irresponsible" behavior and a new escalation, CNN reported.

 "And of course, if you combine this declaration with what they are doing on the ground, waging a war on an independent sovereign state and launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it makes the situation even more dangerous," he added.

 While he said that thousands of anti-tank and aircraft are on their way to Ukraine, pointing to the arrival of accurate weapons to Ukraine, such as Javelin anti-armor missiles.

 He noted that NATO member states are strengthening their air defenses.

 The European Union announced the closure of European airspace completely to Russia, and the European Commission announced that Russia would be deprived of the "SWIFT" system.

 Turkey: We will activate the war clause on waterways

 As a result, Turkey announced that it would activate the war clause regarding the waterways in preparation for closing them to warships.

 "We will transparently implement all the provisions of the Montreux Convention on Maritime Straits," which dates back to 1936 in Switzerland, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a local channel.

 According to the terms of this agreement, Ankara allows the ships and warships of the landlocked countries in the Black Sea during peacetime to pass freely through its straits (the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits leading to the Black Sea), but the warships of the landlocked countries cannot stay in the Black Sea for more than  21 days.

 Yesterday, Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed his country's call for Turkey to close the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits to Russian warships, but Turkish sources denied Ankara's ban on Russian ships.

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