US director of national intelligence makes chilling 'nuclear annihilation' warning to humanity

The US director of national intelligence has issued a chilling warning to humanity, discussing the ongoing threat of nuclear war as geopolitical tensions continue to rise.

Tulsi Gabbard took to her personal social media account to post a harrowing video in which she shares her thoughts on the current state of the world, and questions world leaders about why nuclear weapons would ever be necessary.

Barely a day goes by at the moment without someone warning about the threat of nuclear war, and unless Russia is willing to withdraw its forces from Ukraine, it seems as if the world's most powerful countries will continue to be at each other's throats.

Tulsi Gabbard makes worrying claims

In her video on Twitter, Gabbard - who did not appear to be speaking on behalf of the US government - said: "As we stand here today, closer to the brink of nuclear annihilation than ever before, political elites and warmongers are carelessly fomenting fear and tensions between nuclear powers.

"Perhaps it's because they are confident that they will have access to nuclear shelters for themselves and for their families that regular people won't have access to. So it's up to us, the people, to speak up and demand an end to this madness."

The devastation of Hiroshima (Getty)

'Kill millions in just minutes'

Reflecting on a recent visit to Hiroshima, one of the two Japanese cities, alongside Nagasaki, that the US targeted with a nuclear bomb in 1945, Gabbard suggested that modern nuclear weapons would do even more damage and could 'kill millions in minutes.'

She said: "This attack obliterated the city, killed over 300,000 people, many dying instantly while others died from severe burns, injuries, radiation sickness and cancer that set in in the following months and years."

Modern weapons could also spark a nuclear winter 'with smoke and ash completely blocking the sun, plunging the world into darkness and cold, killing crops and starving billions.'

While it seems as if the UK already has its response planned out in the event of a nuclear attack, this stark warning shows how much damage would be done in the event of a weapon being used.

Speaking in the video, Gabbard added: "This one bomb, that caused so much destruction on Hiroshima, was tiny compared to today's nuclear bombs.

Tulsi Gabbard posted the video on Twitter (Ezra Acayan/Getty Images)

"The bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima had a yield of just 15 kilotons of TNT, whereas today's nuclear warheads range in size from 100 kilotons to one megaton. A single nuclear weapon today would kill millions in just minutes. Just one of these nuclear bombs would vaporise everything at its core. People, buildings, life itself."

'This isn't some made up science fiction story'

She continued: "The shockwave would crush structures miles away killing and maiming countless people. And then, comes the fallout. Radioactive poison spreading through the air, water and soil condemning survivors to agonising deaths or lifelong suffering. Acid rain would scar the Earth wiping out entire ecosystems.

"This isn't some made up science fiction story. This is the reality of what is at stake, what we are facing now. It is up to us, the people, to speak up and demand an end to this madness. We must reject this path to nuclear war and work towards a world where nobody has to live in fear of a nuclear holocaust."