How Nuclear Tensions During 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis Compare to Now

October 1962 is widely known as a period of time when nuclear tensions were heightened during the Cuban Missile Crisis; however, many have wondered if tensions are the same now amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.

During a nearly two-week period in October 1962, the world appeared to be on the brink of nuclear war after American military forces discovered Soviet Union nuclear missile sites being built in Cuba. In response, then-President John F. Kennedy called for the Navy to "quarantine" Cuba, calling on the Soviet Union to remove the nuclear weapons from the nearby island.

Since February 2022, Russia has continued to wage war on Ukraine, with many believing that President Vladimir Putin could be pushed to the brink and potentially use a nuclear weapon.

Life in 1962

In 1962, Jack Commander was just 6 years old, but he recently spoke to Newsweek about nuclear missile drills he was ordered to do in school while living in Orlando, Florida.

"In school, kindergarten and Pre-k...if a siren would go off and there'd be an imminent nuke bomb attack, all the kids would stick our heads under the desk, tuck ourselves together and stick out heads underneath the desks," Commander told Newsweek. "That was the standard drill or practice for students in school to prepare for a nuke bomb attack."

"People from my generation, we still joke about that today, 'Remember when we were in school and had to duck our heads under our desks?'" Commander said.

Commander also explained that he lived near a U.S. Air Force base and he noticed dozens of bomber planes constantly flying overhead in case they needed to attack.

"It seemed like hundreds of bombers because our house was on the flight path and the windows in the house, they shook day and night for that week, 10-day period," Commander said. "The bombers were just one after another, after another, circling, taking off and landing. It was crazy."

Once the Cuban Missile Crisis was resolved, when the Soviet Union agreed to remove its nuclear weapons from Cuba, Commander said that he and his family felt "relief."

"Once my mom and dad told me that everything was ok, the danger had passed, it was just kind of relief thing," Commander said. "I could finally get a good night's sleep because the planes were no longer shaking the house all night long."

Have Things Changed?

Heather Williams, the director of the Project on Nuclear Issues and a senior fellow in the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), also spoke to Newsweek about the Cuban Missile Crisis and how things have changed since then.

Williams explained that one of the most obvious reasons why the current nuclear tensions are different from 1962 is that the Cuban Missile crisis "was between two nuclear-armed adversaries, which because of the deployments in Cuba, were in very close proximity to each other."

"In the current crisis, Ukraine doesn't have nuclear weapons, so that dynamic is a bit different," Williams said.

According to Williams, the types of nuclear weapons is another large difference in tensions now compared to 1962.

"We're talking about tactical nuclear weapons used now. That's what the real concern is. These would be lower yield, shorter range, potentially battlefield used nuclear weapons," Williams told Newsweek. "During the Cuban Missile Crisis, these were much higher yield strategic weapons. So, think about the mushroom cloud images."

"It was also a bit more acute. The Cuban Missile Crisis was 13 days, really intense, a lot of public messaging and public signaling about what was going on. In Ukraine, this is a drawn-out conflict. Putin's statements in September were thinly veiled nuclear threats but really nuclear weapons have been in the background, or the foreground throughout this entire crisis."

As Williams noted, Putin did speak about using further defense methods if Russia felt threatened by other nations. "If Russia feels its territorial integrity is threatened, we will use all defense methods at our disposal, and this is not a bluff," Putin said last month.

In addition to Putin's past remark, an ally of the Kremlin leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of the Chechen Republic, also recently mentioned the use of a "low-yield nuclear weapon."

Despite the recent rhetoric from Putin and others, Williams also spoke about the current threat levels compared to those during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

"I think it is highly unlikely that Putin will use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. The cost would be so significant for him, it would not help him win the war in Ukraine, he would most likely lose a lot of his close partners he relies on," Williams said. "With that said, I don't think we should take his threats lightly. The President [Joe Biden] made a speech a few days ago saying, 'We should not interpret this as a bluff', and I agree with that."

"So these threats we have to take very seriously nonetheless, I think the likelihood is pretty low," Williams told Newsweek. "Whereas during the Cuban Missile Crisis, it was much more dangerous because you had those two nuclear-armed adversaries go toe-to-toe, quite literally."