“We are on the brink of nuclear annihilation”: U.S. intelligence chief criticized those escalating military tensions

U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard visited Hiroshima and, moved by the aftermath of the 1945 nuclear bombing, recorded a video message. In it, she criticized those who “escalate tensions between nuclear powers.”

The video was posted on the American official’s social media accounts.

“Today, more than ever, we are on the brink of nuclear annihilation, while the political elite and war hawks irresponsibly fuel fear and tensions between nuclear powers. Maybe they believe they’ll have access to nuclear bunkers for themselves and their families — bunkers ordinary people will never reach. That’s why it’s up to us, the common people, to speak out and demand an end to this madness,” Gabbard said.

She did not specify exactly who she considers to be inciting nuclear conflict.

Using the Hiroshima bombing as an example, the U.S. intelligence chief urged people to imagine the consequences of a nuclear war today.

“The bomb dropped on Hiroshima had a yield of just 15 kilotons of TNT, whereas modern nuclear warheads range from 100 kilotons to over one megaton. One nuclear bomb today could kill millions in minutes. It would vaporize everything at ground zero — people, buildings, life itself,” she said.

“The shockwave would demolish structures for miles, killing and maiming countless people. Then would come radioactive fallout — a toxic cloud spreading through air, water, and soil, condemning survivors to agonizing death or lifelong suffering. This could be followed by nuclear winter: smoke and ash would block out the sun, plunging the world into darkness and cold, destroying crops and dooming billions to starvation. Acid rain would scar the Earth, wiping out entire ecosystems. This isn’t fiction — it’s the reality of what’s at stake today,” Gabbard added.

As a reminder, Gabbard has previously sharply criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. arms deliveries to Ukraine.

Recently, supporters of Donald Trump voiced outrage at Zelensky’s strikes on Russian airfields, claiming he is trying to drag the U.S. into war with Russia.