NATO chief sends Putin "unambiguous" nuclear weapons warning - glimmer of hope from the UN Security Council

Created: 05/07/2022, 09:57

By: Cindy Boden

NATO is once again issuing a warning to Russia.

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council decides on a statement.

News ticker on negotiations.

• Escalated Ukraine conflict:

  NATO Secretary

  General

  warns Russia

  against

  using nuclear weapons

• Unanimously

  adopted statement by the UN Security Council

  :

  The members struggled to come up with a first joint statement on the Ukraine war

  through.

• This

  news ticker on negotiations and diplomatic efforts in the Ukraine war

  is continuously updated.

Kyiv/Moscow - The Ukraine war started with Russia, a nuclear power - which means that the fear of the use of nuclear weapons is always omnipresent.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has again warned Moscow of this.

"Our message is clear: if nuclear weapons were used, there would only be losers on all sides," he told

.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has indicated since the war began that he was prepared to use Russia's tactical nuclear weapons in the conflict.

According to Stoltenberg, however, NATO has no indication that Russian nuclear weapons have been raised to a higher level of readiness since the beginning of the war on February 24.

According to Stoltenberg, the defense alliance expects a further intensification of the Ukraine war in the coming weeks.

"We must prepare for Russian offensives and even more brutality, even greater hardship and even more destruction of critical infrastructure and residential areas," he said.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (archive image) © Dwi Anoraganingrum/Future Image/Imago

Ukraine-Russia negotiations: NATO boss calls for further arms deliveries from the West

The NATO chief also spoke out in favor of further arms deliveries from Western countries to Ukraine.

"In the long term, Ukraine cannot only defend itself with Soviet-era weapons, but must switch to modern Western weapons," he said.

"Ukraine urgently needs more heavy weapons, the West should step up supplies, do more and prepare for a long-term engagement."

US President Joe Biden has already announced further arms deliveries.

The US provided Ukraine with "additional artillery ammunition, radars and other equipment," he said on Friday (May 6).

A high-ranking US government official put the value of this armaments package at $150 million.

Ukraine-Russia negotiations: UN Security Council issues joint statement for the first time

Diplomatic news at this time also comes from the

: more than two months after Russia invaded Ukraine, it agreed

.

The most powerful UN body declared unanimously on Friday - i.e. also with the consent of aggressor Russia - that it was "deeply concerned" about the conflict in Ukraine.

While the agreement is seen as the panel's weakest possible statement, it is also a glimmer of hope that stalled diplomacy on New York's East River could get some movement.

"The Security Council expresses strong support for the Secretary-General's efforts to seek a peaceful solution," the statement said.

Norway and Mexico wrote the text of the declaration.

An earlier version said the Security Council in New York supported UN Secretary-General António Guterres' role as a mediator in the Ukraine war.

This wording has been deleted.

Russia had previously prevented Security Council decisions on the Ukraine war.

When asked what prompted Moscow to agree, a diplomat said, while guaranteeing anonymity, that "all the good stuff" had been removed from the draft.