Putin reacted aggressively to Western sanctions against Russia and «aggressive statements» other countries against her.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Defense Ministry to transfer the Russian deterrence forces to a special mode of combat duty. He gave this order at a meeting with Chief of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu «aggressive statements» leaders of NATO countries in relation to the Russian Federation.
«You see that Western countries are taking not only unfriendly actions against our country in the economic sphere, I mean illegitimate sanctions that everyone knows about. But the top officials of the leading NATO countries also allow aggressive statements against our country. Therefore, I order the Minister of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff to transfer the containment forces of the Russian army to a special mode of combat duty»,— he said.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense website, «strategic deterrence forces — this is the basis of the combat power of the RF Armed Forces, designed to deter aggression against the Russian Federation and its allies, as well as to defeat the aggressor in a war using various types of weapons, incl. nuclear.