China on Wednesday urged Russia to adopt "calm" and "restraint" after President Putin issued a nuclear threat over Ukraine's use of long-range US missiles.

The region has primarily been a hotbed for US-China tensions, but a Russian deputy foreign minister now says Moscow is thinking of getting involved.

Russia continues its relentless missile bombardment and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities. While Ukrainians have successfully intercepted many drones and cruise missiles, ballistic missiles still pose a significant threat to vital targets.

The war between Russia and Ukraine is intensifying with new attacks and new concerns over the weapons being used by both sides. Vladimir Putin says Russia’s use of a nuclear-capable weapon is a response to Ukraine firing American weapons deeper into Russia for the first time.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces were preparing a response to Ukraine’s recent attacks using U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles on air defense units in the Kursk border region. “In the last three days,

Russia warned that it might consider deploying intermediate- and short-range missiles in Asia as a countermeasure to U.S. actions.