Former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman calls Vladimir Putin a 'cornered animal'

Retired U.S. Navy admiral and former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "cornered animal."

Mullen, in an interview Sunday on ABC's "This Week," said the United States should take Putin's nuclear threats seriously, and that Putin was backed into a corner due to the number of losses he has sustained in Ukraine. 

"He's a cornered … animal and I think he's [become] more and more dangerous,” Mullen said during the interview. "I think we have to take him seriously and think through what the requirements would be to respond to that. It also speaks to the need to get to the table."

Russian forces have been struggling in Ukraine and have been pushed back from certain territories as a result of Ukraine counteroffensives in the East, according to The Hill. 

On Sunday, Russia accused Ukraine of terrorism, claiming that Ukraine allegedly attacked the bridge extending to Russian-annexed Crimea.

It is unclear if Ukraine is behind the attack, but a spokesperson for Ukraine President Zelensky has denied it.

Zelensky's advisor Mykhailo Podolyak wrote in a statement that there is "only one terrorist state here" and that the "whole world knows who it is." 

According to Mullen, the US needs to focus on dealing with the Russia crisis.

"We need to back off that a little bit and do everything we possibly can to try to get back to the table to resolve this," Mullen stated.