Ukraine news LATEST: China’s Xi says ‘nuclear wars must not be fought’ as Putin makes ‘chilling Hiroshima threat’

CHINA’S President Xi Jinping has made his first statement on the subject of conflict since the war in Ukraine broke out. President Xi condemned nuclear weaponry, speaking to Germany’s Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, saying: “The international community should … jointly oppose the use or threats to use nuclear weapons, advocate that nuclear weapons must not be used and nuclear wars must not be fought, in order to prevent a nuclear crisis in Eurasia.” While he did not directly condemn President Putin for his invasion of Ukraine, as China and Russia have very close ties, the comments could prove to be pivotal for not only Ukraine, but potentially Taiwan also, as he asked for global unity in a time of “change and turmoil”. This comes coincides with claims Putin made “Hiroshima-like thinly veiled threats, a French government source told the Mail on Sunday: “The two presidents [Macron and Putin] have undoubtedly discussed the risk of nuclear weapons use. “Macron was distinctly alarmed,” the source said, “it sounded like a very heavy hint that Putin might detonate a tactical nuclear weapon in the east of Ukraine, while leaving Kyiv intact.” Read our Ukraine-Russia live blog below for the latest updates…