‘Hotline’ between the US and Russia? – DW – 08/30/2023

In October 1962, the world had already experienced two world wars, and a third appeared imminent.

The communist superpower of the Soviet Union had installed nuclear missiles on the island of Cuba, its ally, just 180 kilometers (112 miles) from the US mainland. America felt threatened and imposed a naval blockade.

After an American plane was shot down, many feared the worst. But at the last moment, the Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, announced on Radio Moscow that Soviet nuclear weapons would be withdrawn from Cuba. The world breathed a sigh of relief.