May 7: Russia will not use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, foreign ministry spokesman Alexei Zaitsev said on Friday.

Zaitsev told reporters the use of nuclear weapons by Russia – a risk that Western officials have publicly discussed – was not applicable to what Moscow calls its special military operation in Ukraine.

CIA director William Burns said on April 14 that given the setbacks Russia had suffered in Ukraine, none of us can take lightly the threat posed by a potential resort to tactical nuclear weapons or low-yield nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, the British military says it believes the Russian military is now significantly weaker after suffering losses in its war on Ukraine.

The British Defense Ministry made the comment Tuesday in its daily statement on Twitter regarding the war.

Failures both in strategic planning and operational execution have left it unable to translate numerical strength into decisive advantage, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom will hand over 13 armored vehicles to Ukraine for safe evacuation of civilians, the UK Foreign Office said on Tuesday.

The UK is sending a fleet of 13 protective armoured vehicles to Ukraine, to safely evacuate people from the shelled areas in east of the country, the office said in a statement, adding that the vehicles will be sent at the request from Kiev.