The chief of the CIA has revealed that there was a ‘genuine risk’ Russia would have used nuclear weapons at the beginning of the Ukraine war.
Bill Burns, the head of the organisation, said a sudden breakthrough of troops in the north east of the country sparked the fears.
Sir Richard Moore, the head of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) also branded the Russian leader as ‘deeply irresponsible’, the Telegraph reports.
Mr Burns said: ‘There was a moment in the fall of 2022 when I think there was a genuine risk of a potential use of tactical nuclear weapons,’ Mr Burns said.
‘The president sent me to talk to our Russian counterpart, Sergei Naryshkin, at the end of 2022 to make very clear what the consequences of that kind of escalation would be, and we’ve continued to be very direct about that.
The chief of the CIA has revealed that there was a ‘genuine risk’ Russia would have used nuclear weapons at the beginning of the Ukraine war
Britain’s MI6 chief Richard Moore and U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director Bill Burns
Some 34 per cent of Russians – just over one in three – would definitely or likely support use of the ultimate weapon in the conflict (stock image)
‘I don’t think we can afford to be intimidated by that sabre rattling or bullying [but] we’ve got to be mindful of it.’
Speaking alongside Mr Burns, Sir Moore said: ‘There’s only one party talking about nuclear escalation and that’s Putin.
‘It’s deeply irresponsible [but] nobody in the West is going to be intimidated by such thoughts or any other behaviour by the Russian state’.
Back in July it was revealed that some 34 per cent of Russians – just over one in three – would definitely or likely support use of the ultimate weapon in the conflict.
This is five per cent higher than one year ago, and the highest since Putin launched his illegal war against the sovereign state Ukraine.
The findings from the Levada Centre show 31 per cent are definitely against the use of weapons, while 21 per cent are likely against it.
The upward trend shows the success of Russian propagandists seeking to gain support for nuclear use.
Russian troops load an Iskander missile onto a mobile launcher during drills at an undisclosed location in Russia
Soldiers stand next to a Russian RS-24 Yars ballistic missile parked along Tverskaya street prior to a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in Moscow
It comes after Ukraine suffered one of its darkest days after two ballistic missiles killed at least 51 people and injured 219, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The missiles hit a military training centre and a nearby hospital in a central region of Ukraine with Zelensky vowing ‘Russian scum will pay for this’ following the devastating attack.
The strike occurred in the Poltava region, the president said in a video posted on his Telegram channel.
It appeared to be one of the deadliest carried out by Russian forces since the war began more than 900 days ago on February 24, 2022.