MOSCOW: In a meeting with top defense officials, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the country's deterrence troops to be placed on "a special mode of combat duty."

Putin stated in a meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov on Sunday that senior officials from important NATO states made "aggressive statements" against Russia.

According to reports, Putin said that Western countries are putting "illegitimate sanctions" on Russia's economy. Russia has been waging "a special military operation" in Ukraine since early Thursday, prompting the decision to deploy the deterrence forces to battle.

Russian forces destroyed 975 Ukrainian military infrastructure objects on Sunday morning, according to Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov. Russia has encircled many cities in Ukraine's east and south.

Putin had previously stated that the military attack against Ukraine was necessary in order to "demilitarize" the country, protect the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, and ensure that Russia was not threatened by NATO from Ukrainian territory. The strike was deemed "unjustified" and "illegal" by Ukraine and the West.

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