The highest it's thought to have been is DEFCON 2, which reportedly occurred during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Although speculation abounds, officials never publicly state which DEFCON level the country is under, for security reasons. DEFCON 5 is the lowest state of readiness, while DEFCON 1 is maximum readiness, meaning a nuclear war is about to begin or already has begun. There are five levels, from DEFCON 1 to 5. Putin had previously said any countries that "hinder us" will face "such consequences that you have never encountered in your history."Īn acronym for Defense Ready Condition, DEFCON is what the Pentagon uses to indicate the level of threats the country faces from other nations, which then determines readiness for any potential response. and other NATO allies continue to impose heavy sanction against the Russian economy, or if they attempt to aid Ukrainian forces, Russia will be ready to respond with nuclear weaponry. The Russian president has indicated that if the U.S. would respond swiftly and launch an even bigger attack. adopted a strategy of nuclear deterrence, meaning if the Soviet Union or any nation attempted to attack, the U.S. and then-Soviet Union each raced toward the creation and building of nuclear weapons, the U.S. Nuclear deterrence is an ideology dating back to the Cold War used to prevent any nuclear aggression.Īs the U.S.
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