Most Americans are concerned that the United States will be drawn into the battle and may be attacked with nuclear weapons as a result of Russia's war on Ukraine, according to a new poll that evokes the Cold War era.

According to a recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, nearly half of Americans are very afraid that Russia will use nuclear weapons to directly target the United States, while another third are somewhat concerned. Shortly after the invasion on February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin put his country's nuclear forces on high alert.

US News reported that almost nine out of ten Americans fear that Putin will deploy a nuclear bomb against Ukraine.

"He is out of control, and I don’t think he really has concern for much of anything but what he wants,” said Robin Thompson, a retired researcher from Amherst, Massachusetts. “And he has nuclear weapons."

Seventy-one percent of Americans believe the invasion has raised the risk of nuclear weapons being deployed anyplace on the planet.

The poll was taken before North Korea tested its largest intercontinental ballistic missile on Friday, but it reveals that 51% of Americans are very concerned about the threat that North Korea's nuclear programme poses to the United States. A further 29% were concerned in a moderate way.