Putin was quick to make his position clear, if not slightly obliquely, when he gave the world a veiled threat about any intervention by the West in the “special military operation” he was conducting with his neighbors to the south, stating;
“No matter who tries to stand in our way or … create threats for our country and our people, they must know that Russia will respond immediately, and the consequences will be such as you have never seen in your entire history.”
If any onlookers thought this was just military bluster and posturing, Putin doubled down just three days later February 27 when he ordered his military command to put Russia’s nuclear deterrent forces on high alert. Claiming this was necessary due to the ‘aggressive’ statement being made by NATO leaders and the threat of economic sanctions proposed by a number of Western countries.
