MOSCOW - Vladimir Putin said he prepared to put Russia’s nuclear forces on alert ahead of Crimea's annexation from neighboring Ukraine last year and ordered his inner circle to retake the peninsula days before any proclamation of a local referendum.
Russia's War Against Ukraine
Wall Street Journal: Putin details Crimea takeover before first anniversary
Pedestrians walk past an wall painting depicting a map of Crimean peninsula bearing the colours of Russia's national flag in Moscow, on March 31.
