Russia has said that the threat of a nuclear war is very significant, as Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed the risks should not be underestimated. However, he added that there was a danger the risks were being "artificially" inflated.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called the nuclear war rhetoric "very dangerous and unhelpful," shortly after his visit to Kyiv.
The U.S. also said it plans to send diplomats back to Ukraine as Russia focuses its assault on the eastern and southern parts of the country.