G7: Russia would face ‘severe consequences’ for any use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons

The Group of Seven (G7) warned in a statement on Friday that Russia would face “severe consequences” if it uses any chemical, biological or nuclear weapons in its war with Ukraine. 

The intergovernmental group of the world’s largest democratic economies said that Russia’s threatening rhetoric over using nuclear weapons is “unacceptable.”

It additionally condemned a number of the country’s other actions concerning the conflict and rejected the Kremlin’s claims that Ukraine is planning to launch a dirty bomb, an explosive that spreads radioactive material, against Russia. 

The statement says that inspections from the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that Russia’s allegations are baseless. 

The group also outlined its positions on a range of other world conflicts, including Iran and North Korea’s nuclear programs and reported Chinese human rights violations in the Xinjiang and Tibet regions. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened that the Kremlin is willing to use nuclear weapons to defend Russian territory, including provinces in Ukraine that the country illegally annexed through internationally denounced referendums in September. 

Putin said last week that Russia has no plans to use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine, but President Biden questioned his sincerity, asking in an interview with Nexstar, “why does he keep talking about it?”

U.S. intelligence has revealed that Russian military leaders have discussed in the past few weeks under what circumstances Russia might use a nuclear weapon.