Putin puts nuke deterrence on special alert

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday ordered the country's deterrence forces to be placed on a special alert, international media reported.

At a meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov, Putin reviewed the statements of senior officials of leading NATO members and sanctioned imposed by western countries.

The decision to put the deterrence forces on special alert was made as Russia has been attacking Ukraine since Thursday.

There have been more air attacks on Ukraine, reported British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The report, quoting officials said that Russian ballistic missiles have been launched from sites in neighbouring Belarus.

After four days of downplaying its losses, Russia has now admitted its soldiers have been killed in the fighting, but it refused to give any numbers, said the BBC report.