Brussels The most dramatic chapter of the Cold War begins with black and white photo, taken from an altitude of 21,000 meters: On October 14, 1962, an American U2 spy plane spotted Soviet technicians and soldiers in Cuba. Analysis of the images confirmed suspicions that the Soviet Union installed a nuclear-capable medium-range missile on a Caribbean island, less than 150 kilometers from the US coast.
From an American point of view, this is an unacceptable provocation: The US Navy is closing Cuba with a naval blockade. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev was angered by American “bandits” and ordered Soviet cargo ships to ignore radio signals of the US fleet. The world held its breath as Washington and Moscow headed for a nuclear confrontation.
The 60th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis approaches this week. It would be a relief if the rounded numbers explained the current interest in the nuclear showdown. But that didn’t happen. The Cuban Missile Crisis is being discussed as it serves as a reminder of the potential for escalation in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
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