Is Russia Preparing for Nuclear War?

What is up with Russia? Putin has put his entire nation on a war footing declaring to his people that they need to prepare for nuclear war and know where the closest bomb shelters are. Not only that, on October 4 through October 7, he put 40 million of his citizens through a practice war game evacuation drill.

Here’s ABC News’ take on this development if you haven’t heard about it:

With tensions between Russia and the United States at their highest since the Cold War, there have been alarming signs coming out of Moscow that suggest the country is ready for war.

Almost no one believes the Kremlin is actually preparing for a military conflict with the United States. Most analysts instead see it as a show, intended to boost support at home and to deter Western countries from intervening militarily in Syria.

Russian TV Warns of Nuclear War Amid US Tensions …

There are some unsettling things Russia has done, however, to give the impression that war is looming…

As the confrontation between the United and Russia has worsened over Syria, and amid speculation Washington might launch airstrikes against Syrian government forces, Russian state-controlled media has gone into high gear, asking Russians whether they are prepared for nuclear war.

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Meanwhile, President Obama is considering direct attacks against Syria which would potentially pit US forces directly against the Russians for the first time since the cold war. Putin has already declared that any attack on Syrian forces would be considered a declaration of war against Russia.

Response: The American media is so obsessed with putting down Trump that very little has been said or printed about this very real threat of war with Russia. As the article above states, most see this as nothing more than a show. But to me it seems like its rather radical to be just a show with no real meaning or actual threat. To put 40 million people through an evacuation drill and tell the whole country to prepare for war seems rather over the top to be nothing more than a show.

Meanwhile Putin has sent an aircraft carrier group up the English channel and Russian bombers are making regular runs toward the USA like they use to during the cold war days and Russian fighter jets are harassing our carriers and naval vessels in the pacific. Plus the Russians are putting missiles back in Europe and Russian subs are making regular runs along the US coastlines. Then there is the continual build up of Russian forces on the eastern border of Ukraine and near Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All pretty costly to be nothing more than a show.

Also, Putin has recently made personal trips to Iran, two to China, and two to Turkey, along with Crimea and Belarus and all of the ‘istan’ countries looking for some kind of support and agreement.

My question is this: is Putin preparing his people for some kind of major military action before the end of President Obama’s term of office in January? It does sound pretty crazy.  What is he thinking? Nobody really wins in an all out nuclear war.

What if the Russians attacked Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania all at once. Putin has indicated more than once that he would like those countries back under his control since there are still millions of Russians living in those nations. How would the USA and NATO respond if at all?

Turkey is one of the major keys to all of this. What if Israel was also targeted to bring Turkey onboard and to stop the USA from using its bases there to support the Ukraine. It would also bring the entire Middle East under a Russian sphere of influence in a possible Ezekiel 38-39 scenario.

How would NATO and President Obama respond with anything other than scathing rhetoric? That might be a risk that Putin is willing to take since his victories in Georgia and Crimea.  The world is definitely a more dangerous place than it was just eight years ago.