While the world waits for Ukraine’s counteroffensive, Russia is rattling its nuclear sabers once again. Sensing the urgency of the situation, the United States is also speeding up delivery on the Abrams tanks it promised Ukraine.

On April 25, Dmitry Medvedev, a Putin ally and the former president and prime minister of Russia, said “the world is sick and quite probably on the verge of a new world war.” He added the risks of nuclear confrontation in Ukraine were also rising.

It’s not the first time Putin or his allies threatened to use nukes in Ukraine. It likely won’t be the last.