G7 warns Russia, its allies in Ukraine war of ‘severe consequences’

The Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers said that Russia would be met with "severe consequences" for any use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, and that those supporting Russia in Ukraine would face "severe costs", CNN reports.

"Russia’s irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and its threat to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus are unacceptable. Any use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons by Russia would be met with severe consequences," the G7 foreign ministers’ joint statement reads.

"We remain committed to intensifying sanctions against Russia, coordinating and fully enforcing them," it said.

"We reiterate our call on third parties to cease assistance to Russia’s war, or face severe costs."

In addition, G7 strongly condemned Russia's "widespread use of information manipulation and disinformation" to gain support for its war against Ukraine.

The statement also read that the group of ministers support "exploring the creation" of an international tribunal based in Ukraine's judicial system to prosecute crimes of aggression against Ukraine. 

On March 25, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin announced that Russia intends to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, allegedly in response to the UK's plans to supply Ukraine with depleted uranium munitions.

The White House said that the US sees no signs of tactical nuclear weapons being moved to Belarus, while Chinese president Xi Jinping said that the use of nuclear weapons is "unacceptable".