LONDON

Russian President Vladimir Putin is using the nuclear deterrent alert to distract the world from what he is doing in Ukraine, the British defense secretary said Monday.

"It is a big attempt to distract away from his troubles in Ukraine by just deploying into the media space these phrases," Ben Wallace said.

"It doesn't link to anything specific in their readiness structures of their forces," he said.

Speaking to Sky News, Wallace also said that the UK’s nuclear readiness is kept “very high” as the government is reviewing the situation constantly.

Wallace said that the Russian military is behind its schedule in Ukraine and troops are in disarray.

"They based all of this on this sort of bizarre assumption that the Ukrainians would welcome them as liberators, well President Putin has taken that assumption, and now that's not the case that's causing them to pause. It's causing them logistical trouble," he said.

Wallace said he believes that Putin is a dangerous man.

The most recent intelligence from the British Ministry of Defense says Russia’s advance on Kyiv “has been slowed by logistical failures and fierce Ukrainian resistance.”

Wallace said the UK has managed to deliver to Ukraine defensive weapons since the start of conflict and the Western allies will keep delivering lethal and non-lethal aid to the country.

Russian President Putin ordered the country’s Defense Ministry to put deterrence forces on high alert on Sunday.

Putin ordered the military intervention on Thursday, days after recognizing two separatist-held enclaves in eastern Ukraine.

At least 368,000 Ukrainians have fled to Poland, Hungary, Romania, Moldova and other countries since then, according to the UN Refugee Agency.

Western powers have imposed harsh financial sanctions on Moscow, and decided to supply Ukraine with weapons and ammunition.