Nuclear war could only be ‘a few steps away’ as Russia and West face off over Ukraine, warns RAF chief

A NUCLEAR war could only be “a few steps away” amid mounting tensions between Russia and the West, an RAF chief has warned.

His warning comes amid growing fears the conflict in Ukraine could escalate to a World War Three involving nuclear weapons.

Lord West previously warned that a single wrong move in the Russia and Ukraine crisis could spark a nuclear war.

And now Air Marshal Edward Stringer CBE told LBC that the possibility of nuclear war would be “weight on the minds” of world leaders.

He said: “It’s no longer unthinkable and it will clearly be weighing on the minds of those who are making all the political calculations at the moment, hence the very straight and consistent line from Biden and all the other senior heads of state recently.

He added: “It’s in the realms of possibility, and that’s what people have to get their heads around.”

He added you could “sketch a plausible chain of events” that may lead to nuclear war, which is “only a few steps to get from where we are now”.

“That’s only a few steps to get from where we are now to a confrontation that could see the use of nuclear weapons, which I think is a pretty terrifying prospect for anybody sensible,” he said.

However, experts are quick to point out that the risk of mutually assured destruction has always been the biggest deterrent against using nuclear weapons and has kept rogue nations from pressing the button.

The warning comes a day after Russia released terrifying new footage of its 7,000mph Zircon hypersonic nuke missile.

The catastrophic weapon that could hit London in minutes, has been branded “unstoppable.”

The clip shows a Mach 9 Zircon – or Tsirkon – missile being fired from the Admiral Gorshkov frigate in the White Sea.

Putin has repeatedly warned the West it will face “untold consequences” if challenged over Ukraine.

And fears the devastating conflict could become nuclear mounted when the Russian dictator ordered his nuke forces on high alert.

The Russian leader’s decision to put his nuclear weapons arsenal into “combat duty” mode sparked fears across the world.

It comes as:

• China is willing to send weapons to Russia to help its invasion, the US has warned. 
• Sobbing Russian soldiers apologised for killing “civilians and children” in Ukraine.
• A Russian drone was reportedly shot down in Ukraine today after claims it flew into Polish airspace.
• An anti-war activist stormed Russia’s main propaganda news show with a sign saying: “They’re lying to you.”
• One of the world’s most fearsome snipers has vowed that he “won’t hesitate to squeeze the trigger”.
• Brit fighter says Ukrainian forces are “like the Taliban on steroids”.
• Russia has released chilling new footage of its hypersonic nuke missile that could hit London in five minutes.

The former chief of the Royal Navy, Lord West said one “miscalculation” could spark a war in Europe – which could spiral into a world war involving the use of nuclear weapons.

And ex-Nato Deputy Supreme Allied Commander of Europe, General Sir Adrian Bradshaw, said Putin’s invasion of Ukraine could spark a nuclear war if Russian troops step into Nato territories.

Western leaders have been reluctant to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, despite repeated pleas from the Ukrainian president, fearing it will trigger a wider war with Putin.

The Air Marshal added: “That is why when there were calls for no-fly zones, the political leadership was quick to point out that Nato is a defensive alliance and Nato is not being attacked.

“Nato is not constructed to go onto the offensive, if it did it would be taking on another nuclear power – Russia.”

Earlier this month Russia held nuclear drills with subs and land-based missiles.

Russia’s Northern Fleet said in a statement that several of its nuclear submarines were involved in exercises designed to “train manoeuvring in stormy conditions”.