Western capitals have long been anxious about Moscow’s military doctrine, which allows it to use nuclear weapons to end a conflict as part of its “escalate to de-escalate” strategy. So when Russian president Vladimir Putin put strategic nuclear forces on high alert on Sunday, they took it seriously. Putin’s decision to prepare Russia’s nuclear weapons for increased launch readiness sparked immediate condemnation from the US and Nato that it had made the world “much more dangerous”.* – Financial Times Photo: Sputnik / Sergey Guneev