Russian President Vladimir Putin has kept nuclear forces on alert in his country, Western media reports.
The European Union and the United States have imposed a series of tough economic sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. It has had a profound effect on the Russian economy, as well as on the war itself, and has shattered Russia’s hopes of a quick victory. Western war analysts warn that the Russian president will take even more extreme measures in this situation.
Despite this, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a Russian puppet state, has warned the West that sanctions could push Russia into a third world war. The Belarusian president has warned that the way Europe and the United States operate over banking sanctions, gas and oil is worse than war, and that the end of the conflict could be a nuclear war.
The European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States have all announced that they will cut off Russian banks of their choice from the SWIFT international payment system. The Belarusian president has said Russia and Belarus will survive the sanctions threat, and called on Putin to return nuclear weapons to Belarus.