I'm a Cold War kid and as such grew up under the specter of all-out nuclear war. We were constantly told that in 30 minutes, which is supposedly the amount of time for a Russian ICBM to hit U.S. targets, it could all be over. We all realized that when you get the warning that the bombs are coming then make that the best 30 minutes of your life!<p>Seriously, if they launch, they launch. There's <i>absolutely nothing</i> you, I or anyone else can do about it.<p>Now, if you want some consolation consider this: back in the 90's the U.S. did a launch-readiness test. Something on the order of 90% of U.S. silos could not be opened far enough to enable launch. That's on top of another 20%-30% of the missiles not being able to launch because of their age and the state of their rocket fuel. Then even if you can open the silo and launch the missile there will be crews who will refuse to launch. If you can open the silo, launch the missile, and the crew is willing to launch then you still have the problem that their navigation systems will miss their target. Finally, if you can open the silo, have a crew willing to launch, successfully launch the missile, the navigation system successfully steer the missile to the intended target there's always the possibility the bomb won't detonate. Keep in mind were discussing this about weapons systems that were deployed 50-60 years ago. Oh, and keep in mind we've developed missile defense systems since then - further depressing the odds that any of the nukes will be able to strike their intended targets.<p>In short, it's saber rattling. Putin is humiliated by the poor performance of his army and is terrified the West will realize the Russian Bear has no claws or fangs and is using the threat of nuclear war to ensure the West doesn't try to counter invade upon seeing how weak Russia really is.