As in a horror film, a new front opens in the world already exhausted by the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and the blood of terrorism also returns.
The global puzzle seems to be spiraling out of control and it is increasingly difficult to find points of reference and balance.
And while we are witnessing an escalation whose ending we cannot imagine, we must now have the coolness to understand that the priority can only be to prevent the attack in Moscow from marking a step towards a point of no return.
There is probably and hopefully still time and possibility to avoid the worst but we need awareness, vision and courage which, to tell the truth, are not widespread commodities in global dialogue at the moment.
Putin's reaction should give pause for thought.
The Kremlin believes that there is, in some way, Ukrainian responsibility for the terrible attack on the Crocus City Hall in Moscow.
The attackers - say the Russian leaders - entered from Ukraine and were fleeing towards Ukraine.
And we know that Putin's reactions to the terrorist attacks of past years have always been terrible and an opportunity to settle accounts with someone.
The claim of ISIS seems to count for little in the eyes of the Tsar who, however, is well aware of the Islamic terrorism of Caucasian origin which has already struck in Russia in recent years.
Some observers breathed a sigh of relief at the news of ISIS's claim.
Better the return of the Islamic State - this is the reasoning - than the involvement of Ukraine - as had been raised in Moscow - which would have meant a bloody and terrible turning point in the already very harsh Ukrainian conflict.
Meanwhile, if we have to consider the return of ISIS a lesser evil, it means that we are really in bad shape.
And then the return of the butchers of the Islamic State (provided that this lead is confirmed) adds a significant element of concern: it is the opening of a fourth front which adds to the Ukrainian one, that of Gaza and that of the Red Sea in the great global chaos.
This is without considering the various tensions around the world, starting with that over Taiwan.
In short, it seems like a confirmation of the piecemeal third world war theory that the pope had spoken about.
But there are many pieces now and the global picture seems out of control.
And in a world in which democracies and autocracies increasingly seem to form two opposing fronts from a political and economic point of view, the attack in Moscow could bring new tensions in this phase of building new geopolitical balances.
Everything will depend on the type of response Moscow decides to give.
And the answer, in turn, will depend on who Putin identifies as responsible for the attack.
In this sense, the words about Ukraine are certainly not reassuring.
What should not be calm at this stage is old Europe, fresh from a summit that produced many ideas and proposals but few concrete steps.
Instead, concreteness and timeliness should now be the EU's watchwords.
The world is changing very quickly and the construction of a true and concrete foreign policy and a common defense identity must be the strategic priority of the 27. We are already late and no one will wait the long times of the European Union.
The defense of European values, peace and democracy now also depend on the ability to decide quickly and adequately to the reality of our times.
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