These are times that require our ability to pay attention to several things at once

There's no shortage of fresh horror being revealed throughout the length and breadth of Ukraine. At times, it's almost too much to let in.

But let's not confine our focus to that aspect of the state of the world stage.

For instance, there's the thinking of Russia's elites:

A prominent Russian TV presenter said that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is approaching a "new stage" in which Moscow will find itself at war with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization — and by extension, the entire world.

"I believe the special military operation is entering a new stage. Ukrainians alone are no longer enough," said Vladimir Solovyov, according to the translation of a video clip tweeted on Thursday by The Daily Beast's Julia Davis.

In the widely shared clip, Solovyov noted that NATO countries have been supplying weapons to Ukraine. "We'll see not only NATO weapons being drawn into this, but also their operators," he warned while speaking on his show "Evening with Vladimir Solovyov."

Solovyov, a prominent state media figure and supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has often repeated and amplified the Kremlin's pro-war rhetoric on the state-owned channel Russia-1.

In the clip, he noted that Russia was "starting to wage war against NATO countries."

We'll be grinding up NATO's war machine as well as citizens of NATO countries," Solovyov said. "When this operation concludes, NATO will have to ask itself: 'Do we have what we need to defend ourselves? Do we have the people to defend ourselves?'

"And there will be no mercy. There will be no mercy," he added.

Echoing Putin's call for the "de-Nazification" of Ukraine, Solovyov said: "Not only will Ukraine have to be denazified, the war against Europe and the world is developing a more specific outline, which means we'll have to act differently, and to act much more harshly."

And there are signals from the top echelon of influential Chinese figures that ought to give us pause:

The prominent former editor-in-chief of the Global Times, a highly popular state-run Chinese media outlet, published a commentary on Saturday urging Chinese citizens to “prepare for a military struggle” in the near future. 

The commentary, written by journalist Hu Xijin, came after U.S. senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and six other U.S. officials visited Taiwan’s capital, Taipei, last Thursday. The visit was strongly denounced by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian, who warned that China is “firmly opposed to any form of official exchange between the U.S. and Taiwan.”

This guy doesn't mince words:

In his most recent comments about the highly tense U.S.-China-Taiwan situation, as reported by Newsweek, Hu asserted that there is a “very high probability” that there will “ultimately” be a “direct military confrontation.” He noted there was a "sense of crisis" in Taiwan.

"As the situation in the Taiwan Strait deteriorates, we must prepare for a military struggle," Hu wrote.

Regardless of who starts the confrontation, Hu added that any kind of “high-intensity military crisis,” even if not war, would be highly consequential. 

And North Korea doesn't take kindly to South Korean talk about preventing the North from  launch sites being positioned in a hostile manner: 

The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un says Pyongyang would retaliate with nuclear strikes if South Korea launched a pre-emptive attack.

Kim Yo-jong, a senior official, has issued two statements responding to remarks from South Korean officials.

South Korean Defence Minister Suh Wook had said the South was able to strike the North's missile launch points - sparking the furious reaction.

Exit question: Is the possibility of a nuclear weapon being detonated somewhere by somebody in the near or intermediate future less or greater or the same than it was, say, a year ago?