I was born into the “baby boomer” generation when “duck and cover” drills were a regular occurrence in school. After living through the Cold War with Russia, I can say with confidence that the world is closer to witnessing the use of some type of nuclear weapon due to war in the Ukraine than during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

“Nina Khrushcheva, whose great-grandfather was the Soviet Union leader during the 1962 standoff, warned the conflict in Ukraine is more dangerous because neither side appears prepared to “back off.” – The Independent, Apr. 30, 2022

The U.S. no longer has an active Civil Defense strategy for the general public that publicized fallout shelters for temporary comfort and gave us a false sense of security. Those shelters were not built from scratch for protection from any bomb but were incorporated into the basement of existing structures as a provisional fix to avoid the initial wave of nuclear fallout. It was an emergency option in a city if you weren’t close to home and not as secure as hunkering down in your own basement that’s surrounded by concrete, soil, and stocked with the essentials for living so a family could survive an extended period of time. When MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction) became the official deterrent strategy in the late 1960s, the Civil Defense program faded away and public fallout shelters were no longer maintained or stocked with necessities.

People who slander any discussion about the current threat or ridicule basic prepping that was common well before nukes or tornado shelters, should consider this article as an exercise in common sense and not fear mongering.

We’re All Preppers Now… “Mark O’Connell’s book set out to explore survivalist subcultures. Then the pandemic hit” – TNR, May, 2020

The supply chain crisis is set to worsen in the near-term, and inflation and food insecurity are not fake news. If you’re the fatalistic type and see no point in basic preparedness, then c’est la vie. We cannot predict or assume what a military response to a first-use situation would be. If it’s localized and cooler heads prevail, you’d still be in a safer environment with basic preparations at home vs. folks that will panic in a futile attempt to secure provisions and shelter. If a provocation goes into MAD mode, fatalism is understandable. In the meantime, I suggest you have a “safe space” without political correctness or gun control. If you’re living in a major metropolitan area and have no options, I’m sorry to hear that.

Since Apr. 2021, I’ve repeatedly called out the potential for a tactical nuclear weapon being deployed on the battlefield by Russia or a false flag event that escalates tensions into a much broader war. Moscow has warned on numerous occasions that any military assistance, weapon shipments, or NATO boots on the ground that interfere with Russia’s military operation in Ukraine are “legitimate military targets” and will result in a response that the world has never experienced.

The West is openly flooding Ukraine with lethal weaponry (and intelligence), turning a blind eye to mercenaries, supportive of covert military strikes deep into Russian territory in the last few weeks, and China recently armed Serbia with anti-aircraft missile systems that NATO warned them not to do. Moscow has acknowledged they’re in a proxy war with NATO and are destroying foreign shipments of weaponry on Ukrainian soil. Russian missile strikes could extend out to “relay points” on NATO territory if someone does not start talking peace and de-escalation soon. 

 The Ballad of the Cornered Bear by The Rifleman

Russia hits faraway targets; diplomat warns of risk of WWIII… “Russia unleashed a string of attacks Monday against rail and fuel installations deep inside Ukraine, far from the front lines of Moscow’s new eastern offensive, as Russia’s top diplomat warned against provoking World War III and said the threat of a nuclear conflict ‘should not be underestimated.’” – AP, Apr. 26

 

Russia targeting Western weapons shipments in Ukraine as Donbas assault begins… “Russia is making good on promises to attack U.S. and allied weapons shipment points and fuel depots in Ukraine, launching rockets at five railway facilities used to funnel critical supplies into the country on Monday.” – Politico, Apr. 25

An outright incursion into Ukraine by NATO armor or troops will expedite the use hypersonic missiles that are capable of deploying low-yield tactical and conventional nuclear warheads. Russia has already used their hypersonic arsenal with conventional ordinance.

Russia says it used hypersonic missiles in Ukraine again… “Russian defence ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said on Sunday that the Kinzhal (Dagger) hypersonic missile hit a Ukrainian fuel depot in Kostiantynivka near the Black Sea port of Mykolaiv. He added: ‘Kalibr cruise missiles were launched from the waters of the Black Sea against the Nizhyn plant that repairs Ukrainian armoured vehicles damaged in fighting.’ The attacks marked the second day in a row that Russia used the Kinzhal, a weapon capable of striking targets 2,000km (1,250 miles) away at 10 times (Mach 10) the speed of sound.” – Aljazeera, Mar. 20

I don’t want to rehash all of the events and rhetoric that transpired since penning Part 4 in mid-February because you can find them in “The Surge of ‘Little Green Men’ and Metal is Poised to Strike” Part 1 (Twitter thread), 2 (thread), 3 (thread), and 4 (thread). Although, I do want to point out a couple quotes from the series and recent mainstream headlines about the growing threat of nuclear war and use of tactical nuclear weapons.

Putin ally warns that crisis with Ukraine could go nuclear… “Astonishing claims made on Russian state TV suggest that Putin should consider going (tactical) nuclear if NATO doesn’t back downon their demands over Ukraine.” – The Sun, Apr. 2021

 

“If you’re not prepared to shelter in place with essential supplies and have your financial house in order, you wasted a lot of time. Stock market futures are dumping at Globex open this evening as gold, oil, and Treasuries are spiking. The U.S. economy is already being hit with increased gas prices, inflation, and supply-chain issues due to the Ukraine crisis. The psychological effect of a missile launch within the European continent or a low-yield tactical nuclear weapon used on a battlefield would send shockwaves through the U.S. population, and grocery and home goods supply chains will be mobbed in a heartbeat.” – TraderStef, Feb. 2022

 

Ukraine war: Vladimir Putin warns interfering countries of ‘lightning-fast’ reaction… “He said: ‘If someone intends to interfere in what is going on from the outside, they must know that constitutes an unacceptable strategic threat to Russia. They must know that our response to counter-strikes will be lightning-fast.’” – SkyNews, Apr. 2022

 

Russia’s Lavrov: Do not underestimate threat of nuclear war… “Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned the West on Monday not to underestimate the elevated risks of nuclear conflict over Ukraine and said he viewed NATO as being ‘in essence’ engaged in a proxy war with Russia by supplying Kyiv with weaponry.” – Reuters, Apr. 25

 

Putin Really May Break the Nuclear Taboo in Ukraine… “It seems unthinkable, but American leaders’ failure to think about it heightens the risk it will happen. Sometimes a thing keeps nagging around your brain and though you’ve said it before you have to say it again. We factor in but do not sufficiently appreciate the real possibility of nuclear-weapon use by Russia in Ukraine. This is the key and crucial historic possibility in the drama, and it really could come to pass.

 

And once it starts, it doesn’t stop. Once the taboo that has held since 1945 is broken, it’s broken. The door has been pushed open and we step through to the new age. We don’t want to step into that age.

 

The war is in its third month. Diplomatic solutions are less likely than ever… We aren’t worried enough about Russian nuclear use in part because we imagine such a thing as huge missiles with huge warheads launched from another continent and speeding through space. We think: That won’t happen! It has never happened! But the more likely use would be not of big strategic nuclear weapons but smaller tactical ones on the battlefield. Such weapons have a shorter range and carry lower-yield warheads. America and Russia have rough parity in the number of strategic nuclear weapons, but Russia has an estimated 10 times as many tactical nuclear weapons as the U.S. and delivery systems that range from artillery shells to aircraft. Why would Vladimir Putin use tactical nuclear weapons?…” – Wall Street Journal, Apr. 28

 

Russian state TV simulates nuclear strike on Europe amid UK WW3 warning – MirrorUK, Apr. 30

I leave you this weekend with a must-see interview from Ret. Colonel Richard Black. He pulls no punches about the war in Ukraine and how we got here.

Colonel Richard Black: U.S. Leading World to Nuclear War

Plan Your Trade, Trade Your Plan

TraderStef on Twitter, Gettr / Website: TraderStef.com