NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has called on the alliance's member states not to give in to the Kremlin's "nuclear threats" that he says are aimed at weakening Western military support for Ukraine. The statement comes ahead of NATO's annual nuclear war games, with Rutte stressing that demonstrating NATO's readiness for a nuclear response is more important than ever in the current international crisis.

NATO's nuclear exercise, dubbed Steadfast Noon, will start next week and will last several days. Dozens of aircraft from various alliance countries will take part in it, practicing scenarios for the use of nuclear weapons. The exercises traditionally take place against the backdrop of tensions with Russia, but this year, as Rutte noted, they are especially important in light of Moscow's regular threats related to the conflict in Ukraine.

The NATO Secretary General stressed that the Kremlin's threats should not affect the determination of Western countries to continue supporting Ukraine.