Putin order to put nuclear weapons on high alert is attempt to distract from Ukraine's resistance to his invasion, UK defense minister says

• Putin on Sunday ordered Russia's nuclear weapons to be placed on high alert.
• The UK defense minister said it was an attempt to distract from his invasion of Ukraine.

President Vladimir Putin's order to put Russian nuclear weapons on high alert is an attempt to distract the world from the situation on the ground in Ukraine, the UK's defense minister said Monday.

Putin took the step on Sunday, saying Russia had no choice due to "illegitimate sanctions" from Western powers. The US, UK, and EU sanctioned a string of Russian entities and, on Sunday, ejected several Russian banks from the SWIFT global-payments system in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

On the ground in Ukraine, Russian forces are facing strident resistance, and the Russian defense ministry on Sunday public admitted sustaining casualties for the first time.

Speaking to Sky News on Monday, Ben Wallace said that Putin was using the nuclear threat to scare and distract from his assault on Ukraine, and that Russia seemed no more ready than normal to use its nuclear weapons.

"The language that President Putin has used doesn't actually link to anything of Russian readiness procedure," Wallace said. "It's really, we assess, him putting the deterrent into the communications space, reminding people that he has a deterrent."

"It's also about distracting the world and the public from what he's actually doing in Ukraine. It doesn't link to anything specific in their readiness structures of their forces."

Wallace also told LBC radio: "We've looked at their posture. There isn't a significant change, this is more about putting it on the table to flex his muscles and distract."

US and UK officials also said that Ukrainians had been slowing Russian efforts to advance, with the UK Ministry of Defence saying Monday: "Logistical failures and staunch Ukrainian resistance continue to frustrate the Russian advance."

The EU said Sunday it was sending fighter jets to help the Ukrainian cause as well as banning Russian aircraft from its airspace.

"The European Union steps up once more its support for Ukraine and the sanctions against the aggressor that is Putin's Russia," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. "For the first time ever, the European Union will finance the purchase and delivery of weapons and other equipment to a country that is under attack."

Speaking in a video posted to Telegram on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the local resistance.

"When I went to the presidency, I said that each of us is the president. Because we are all responsible for our country. For our beautiful Ukraine. And now it has happened that each of us is a warrior," he said.

"And I am sure that each of us will win."