Nato leaders are set to agree additional aid for Ukraine, including equipment to guard against the use of chemical, biological, and nuclear attacks.

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned Moscow against using such weapons during the conflict, while stressing the coalition’s readiness to ‘protect and defend allies against any threat any time’.

He told reporters: ‘Russia must stop its nuclear sabre-rattling. This is dangerous and it is irresponsible.

‘Any use of nuclear weapons will fundamentally change the nature of the conflict, and Russia must understand that a nuclear war should never be fought and they can never win a nuclear war.’

In a show of Western unity against the war in Ukraine, Brussels will also host a G7 and an EU summit on Thursday.

US President Joe Biden flies to Europe on Wednesday for an emergency Nat summit on Ukraine, where invading Russian troops are stalled, cities are under bombardment and the besieged port of Mariupol is in flames.

Four weeks into a war that has driven a quarter of Ukraine’s 44 million people from their homes, Russia has failed to capture a single major Ukrainian city or depose the government, while Western sanctions have ostracised it from the world economy.

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Russia-Ukraine war: Everything you need to know

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, the country has suffered widespread damages and loss of life amid a major bombing campaign.

Aid workers have warned that the worst hit areas could run out of food and medicine by Friday.

Millions of people have fled the country, with thousands of British people opening up their homes to Ukrainian refugees.

Russian President Vladimir Putin hasn’t shown any signs of calling off the attack anytime soon, with his spokesperson claiming that he is refusing to rule out using nuclear weapons.

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Vladimir Putin’s forces have taken heavy losses, been frozen in place for at least a week on most fronts and face supply problems and fierce resistance.

They have turned to siege tactics and bombardment, causing massive destruction and many civilian deaths.

Western officials have voiced fears that Moscow may resort to extreme measures to regain the upper hand in the conflict, including the use of weapons of mass destruction.

Mr Stoltenberg said: ‘We have provided different types of support, also when it comes to different measures to protect against chemical weapons, and I expect allies to look into how they can step up and provide more equipment to protect and defend against chemical weapons.’

He went on: ‘We provide support, we are stepping up our support, and we are concerned about the possible use of chemical weapons or biological weapons.

‘We have also seen not only the nuclear rhetoric from the Russian side, but also these false claims that Ukraine – supported by Nato allies – are producing and preparing for the use of chemical weapons.

‘This is an absolute false accusation, but it may be for them a way to try to create a pretext for their use of chemical weapons.

‘Russia has used chemical agents before against their own opposition, but also on Nato allied territory in Salisbury, and Russia was of course part of the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

‘They facilitated and supported the Assad regime, which has used chemical weapons several times, so we are concerned.

‘That is also the reason we are ready and will address tomorrow ways to provide support to Ukraine to protect themselves from the use of chemical weapons.’

Mr Stoltenberg said the use of such weapons is not only ‘extremely serious for the people of Ukraine’, but would also ‘have dire consequences’ across Europe.

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