Vladimir Putin ordered Russia's nuclear deterrent on high alert after "absolutely unacceptable" remarks by Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, the Kremlin has claimed. The Russian president said he had placed Moscow's nuclear forces on a "special regime of combat duty" in response to "aggressive statements" from members of the Nato defence alliance.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov went further on Monday to blame the escalation during Moscow's invasion of Ukraine on Ms Truss.
"Statements were made by various representatives at various levels on possible altercations or even collisions and clashes between Nato and Russia," he told a press briefing, the Interfax news agency reported.
"We believe that such statements are absolutely unacceptable. I would not call the authors of these statements by name, although it was the British foreign minister."
