G7 ministers: There will be serious consequences if Russia uses nuclear weapons

Foreign ministers from the group of seven economic powers said on Friday that any use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons by Russia would have serious consequences and renewed their appeal to Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.

“Russia’s irresponsible nuclear rhetoric is unacceptable,” the ministers said in a joint statement.

“Today we established a G7 coordination mechanism to help Ukraine repair, restore and defend its critical energy and water infrastructure,” they added.

G7 leaders vow to hold Putin responsible for Ukraine attacks

G7 heads of government have vowed to hold Russian President Vladimir Putin and those “responsible” accountable for the recent wave of attacks in Ukraine, the group’s leaders said in a joint statement after a virtual meeting on Tuesday.

The G7 countries also pledged to support Ukraine “for as long as necessary”, while pledging to continue to provide financial, humanitarian, military, diplomatic and legal support.

The nations assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “that we are not intimidated and are steadfast in our commitment to providing the support Ukraine needs to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” according to the statement.

“We will continue to provide financial, humanitarian, military, diplomatic and legal support and will stand firm with Ukraine for as long as necessary. We are committed to supporting Ukraine to meet its winter readiness needs.” said the group.

With input from Mick Krever andSugam Pokharel from CNN; andedited by Matthias Williams