The United States and its allies are on high alert as Russia is expected to conduct large-scale nuclear exercises soon.
Normally, Russia holds large annual nuclear drills around this time, which America and the West expect may happen in the near future.
A US defense official said the Russian drills are expected to run roughly at the same time as NATO's annual nuclear preparedness drills that begin next week.
Despite this, the West is actually concerned that Moscow may deliberately use this opportunity to launch a nuclear attack on Ukraine.
This follows the threat made by President Vladimir Putin before who publicly said he would use it.
As a result, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg assured that they will monitor Russia's annual nuclear drills more closely, as they have done in previous years.
Meanwhile at the White House, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby described the Russian drills as their annual routine that would see large-scale maneuvers of its nuclear forces, including live guided launches.
For now, Western officials see that Putin has not yet taken steps that indicate he is ready to launch a nuclear strike.
However, any nuclear use by Moscow could prompt a physical response from NATO.
