The world was on the cusp of a nuclear war two years ago, according to the CIA chief Bill Burns.
Speaking to an audience in London, alongside his MI6 counterpart Richard Moore, Mr Burns revealed that there was a “genuine risk” Russia would have used nuclear weapons at the beginning of the Ukraine war. He said that the extraordinary moment in the autumn of 2022 meant the world was on the brink of nuclear catastrophe.
Mr Burns explained a sudden Ukrainian breakthrough in the northeast of the country had pushed Russian troops back. The Russian forces had also completely abandoned Kherson in the south of the country. This prompted a belief in the White House that Vladimir Putin might deploy a nuclear weapon to avoid military humiliation.
The CIA boss said that the frontline quickly stabilised in the weeks following the retreat, allowing President Putin to step back from nuclear strikes.
At the tme, the CIA chief was even deployed to Turkey to meet with his Russian counterpart to warn him against using nukes.
He explained on Saturday: “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.
“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.”
Sir Richard Moore, the head of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) branded the Russian leader as “deeply irresponsible” for threatening to use nuclear weapons. He added: “Nobody in the West is going to be intimidated by such thoughts or any other behaviour by the Russian state.”
Mr Burns said that since the incident in autumn 2022, the West has been able to ignore most of the Kremlin’s nuclear sabre-rattling, adding that threats from Moscow should not always be taken literally.
His response came amid a debate over whether Anglo-French Storm Shadow missiles should be used inside Russia.
There are fears in the West that Moscow could retaliate with nuclear weapons if Ukraine receives permission to use Storm Shadows in Russia.
The CIA boss said: “Putin’s a bully. He’s going to continue to sabre rattle from time to time.
“We cannot afford to be intimidated by that sabre rattling. We got to be mindful of it.
“The US has provided enormous support for Ukraine, and I’m sure the president will consider other ways in which we can support them.”
A survey of Russians in July this year found that 34 percent would support the use of a nuclear weapon in the Ukranian war. It marks the highest level of support for nukes since the war in Ukraine began.
The findings from the Levada Centre show 31 percent are definitely against the use of weapons, while 21 per cent are likely against it.
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