Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on Tuesday, Haines said Putin's order in late February to put his nuclear deterrent forces on special alert status was"very unusual" and something the intelligence community is taking"very seriously."
"We are watching very closely for movements, anything related to his strategic nuclear forces, and we're not seeing something at this stage that indicates that he is doing something different than we have seen in the past," Haines said in response to questioning from ranking member Rep. Michael Turner of Ohio.
"We have not seen a public announcement from the Russians about a heightened nuclear alert status since the 1960s, but we also have not observed forcewide nuclear posture changes that go beyond what we've seen in prior moments of heightened tensions during the last few decades," Haines said at the onset of the hearing.
And on Feb. 27, Putin ordered his nuclear deterrent forces on special alert status, an action he said was driven by economic sanctions and"aggressive statements" made by NATO countries amid his invasion of Ukraine.