The last major crisis came on 25 January 1995, when then president of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, became the first world leader to activate the Russian nuclear briefcase. The Russian radar operators believed they were under imminent threat of nuclear attack, but ultimately the rocket showing up on their sweat stained radar screens was merely a Norwegian research rocket (the Black Brant XII) being launched to study the Northern Lights.
Ever since Russia’s current president Vladimir Putin launched an unprovoked attack and invasion of the sovereign nation of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the people of Europe and beyond’s fear factor was quickly set to DEFCON 1. Putin may have resorted to the same saber-rattling his Soviet predecessors were so keen to use. However, many fear that not only does Putin possess a bigger sword, but that he is more than willing to actually use it.
