Russia has ‘stopped threatening to use nuclear weapons,’ Olaf Scholz says as Putin again threatens to use them

US accuses Russia of ‘irresponsible’, ‘loose talk’ of nuclear weapons

German chancellor Olof Scholz claimed that Russia has stopped threatening to use its nuclear weapons over Ukraine, just before Russian president Vladimir Putin spoke menacingly about how the risk of a nuclear war was rising.

Mr Scholz claimed in an interview released on Thursday morning that the risk of Mr Putin using nuclear weapons as part of his war in Ukraine had decreased in response to international pressure.

He told Funke media that “Russia has stopped threatening to use nuclear weapons,” saying this came “as a reaction to the international community marking a red line”.