With every new loss suffered by Russia, the world moves closer to the prospect of nuclear war.
According to the CIA, the sinking of the Russian warship in the Black Sea could be enough to tip President Vladimir Putin over the edge.
The world is watching closely for what Putin does next after the warship Mosvka was struck by a Ukrainian missile. The immediate aftermath involved the haunting sounds of air raid sirens blaring in every one of Ukraine's regions at the same time.
CIA director William Burns said Ukraine should be ready for retaliation on a new scale and for the war to be taken to another level. Speaking to students and faculty at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta on Friday, Burns said the potential for a nuclear strike is real.
"The last chapter in Putin's war has yet to be written, as he grinds away in Ukraine," Burns said.
"I have no doubt about the cruel pain and damage that Putin can continue to inflict on Ukraine, or the raw brutality with which Russian force is being applied."
He said Putin is desperate to turn the war back in Russia's favour after Ukraine struck a big blow at sea and sent invading forces scurrying from an attempted assault on the capital Kyiv.
"Given the potential desperation of President Putin and the Russian leadership, given the setbacks that they've faced so far, militarily, none of us can take lightly the threat posed by a potential resort to tactical nuclear weapons or low-yield nuclear weapons," the CIA director said.
"We're obviously very concerned. I know [US President Joe Biden] is deeply concerned about avoiding a third world war, about avoiding a threshold in which, you know, nuclear conflict becomes possible."
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev added to the concern felt by Western nations with a warning that Russia would deploy nuclear weapons close to the Baltic States and Scandinavia, if Finland or Sweden decide to join NATO.
Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's security council and president from 2008 to 2012, wrote on Telegram that if the countries joined, this would more than double Russia's land border with NATO members.
"Naturally, we will have to reinforce these borders. In this case, it would not be possible to talk any more about the Baltic non-nuclear status. The balance has to be restored," he said, indicating that Russia would be entitled to deploy nuclear weapons in the region.
The discussion about nuclear weapons comes after Ukrainian media outlet Nexta announced on Twitter that there had been "an air raid alert on the entire territory of Ukraine".
The Kyiv Independent also announced that an air raid alert had been declared "in all of Ukraine's regions at once".
❗️An air-raid alert on the entire territory of #Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/SyJgc4ryVx
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) April 14, 2022
Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko revealed multiple explosions had occurred in Kyiv, with the ongoing air raid siren already sounding for almost an hour.
"3 explosions in #Kyiv right now. One after the other," she wrote on Twitter.
"The air raid warning has been on for an hour. Most likely #putin gone livid because of the #Moskva sinking. Oh well, we'll just keep standing to Russia's annoyance."
The alert follows warnings that President Vladimir Putin could launch an "immediate escalation" of his war in Ukraine after his warship the Mosvka was struck in an apparent Ukrainian missile attack.
Russia's Black Sea flagship, which has been involved in the naval assault on Ukraine, has been "seriously damaged" by an explosion, Ukrainian state media reported on Thursday, as Moscow threatened to strike Kyiv's command centres.
Russia's Defence Ministry is in crisis mode after the Moskva was struck.
"While being towed … towards the destination port, the vessel lost its balance due to damage sustained in the hull as fire broke out after ammunition exploded," the ministry said in a statement.
"Given the choppy seas, the vessel sank."
The ministry had earlier said that the fire had been contained and the ship could remain afloat. Meanwhile, Russia's offensive on Ukraine's second largest city of Kharkiv has continued. The city near the Russian border has been on the eastern frontline since the start of the war and suffered massive destruction.
Those fleeing the country now number 4.7 million in the 50 days since Russia invaded, the United Nations says. Others who have decided to stay face the real threat that invading forces will target their towns next.
And now the additional threat of a nuclear strike approved by a Russian leader whose back is against the wall.
— with AFP