White House Says Putin Directive Gives No Reason to Change Nuclear Alert Level at Present

Last weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the country's nuclear deterrence forces to be placed on high alert after "aggressive statements" from NATO related to Moscow's ongoing military operation in Ukraine.

The United States currently sees no reason to change its nuclear alert levels, the White House said on Monday.

This announcement comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia's nuclear deterrence forces to be placed on high alert Sunday following "aggressive statements" from NATO related to Moscow's ongoing military operation in Ukraine.

"We have not changed our own alerts, and we have not changed our own assessment in that front but we also need to be very clear-eyed about his own use of threats," White House Spokeswoman Jen Psaki told MSNBC.

Last week, Moscow launched a military operation in Ukraine after the Lugansk and Donetsk People's Republics asked Russia for assistance to defend themselves from attacks by Ukrainian troops.

The goal of this operation, as described by the Russian government, is to neutralise Ukraine's military capacity, with precision strikes being carried out against Ukrainian military infrastructure.

Moscow's actions have been condemned by the United States, Japan, and several European countries, which have imposed economic sanctions against Russia as a result.