A top Ukrainian general has warned the world we should be worried about Vladimir Putin's threat to use nuclear weapons.
General Oleksandr Syrskiy, commander of Ukraine's ground forces, admitted that President Volodymyr Zelensky's office is worried about a nuclear strike.
Russia has claimed that Ukraine is in the final stage of creating a 'dirty bomb'.
But many fear Moscow will order its forces to set off a dirty bomb of its own in a false flag attack, blaming Kyiv for the blast.
This would then be used as justification for the Kremlin to further escalate the war, it is feared.
Syrskiy, who won the battle of Kyiv in the spring, and the battle for Kharkiv in September, did not mince his words when assessing the threat presented by the nuclear weapons at Putin's disposal.
"We are and should be worried," he said in an exclusive interview with abc News.
Last month, Putin issued a thinly veiled threat that Russia would resort to the use of nuclear weapons in its war against Ukraine following a series of setbacks on the battlefield.
Meanwhile Syrskiy said that he remained confident Ukraine was winning the war which is about the "survival of our people".
He continued: "Of course I think we are winning because first and foremost, we are winning the psychological battle.
"We have success on the battleground, but the war is difficult."
Moscow claimed that Ukraine plans to use the feared dirty bomb in a call between Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.
The UK, US and France issued a statement blasting the "false allegations".
A joint statement said: "The defence ministers of each of our countries spoke to Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu at his request".
But they rejected "Russia’s transparently false allegations that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its own territory".
They added: "The world would see through any attempt to use this allegation as a pretext for escalation. We further reject any pretext for escalation by Russia."
Ukraine's counteroffensive has reached the agricultural south after forcing Russian troops out of the lands they seized earlier this year.
Kherson was the first to fall to Russia early on in the invasion and retaking it would be a major victory for Ukraine.
But as the country continues to add to its successes, Russia is becoming more desperate.
The Kremlin has ramped up strikes on Ukraine, appearing to target energy facilities in particular.
It follows the destruction of the bridge linking Russia to annexed Crimea during an explosion this month.
The attack came in the hours after Putin celebrated his 70th birthday.
