Photo/Illutration Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a televised address in Moscow on Nov. 21 regarding the firing of a hypersonic medium-range ballistic missile at a military facility in Ukraine. Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via Reuters

In November 1979, Zbigniew Brzezinski (1928-2017), U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s national security adviser, was awakened at 3 a.m. by a phone call from an aide.

“The Soviets have launched 220 missiles against the United States,” the caller said.

Brzezinski was required to report this immediately to the president and get him to make a decision within seven minutes.

However, Brzezinski ordered his aide to reconfirm the information and call again. The resulting update was that 2,200 missiles had been launched, not 220.

That meant there was no avoiding an all-out war. Brzezinski decided not to wake his wife who was sleeping beside him. Everyone would be dead half an hour later anyway, and he saw no reason to terrify her.

Then, the phone rang for the third time. The message this time was that the intel was all wrong, and that there had been no missile launch. Brzezinski went back to bed.

The above episode is a documented historical fact, and it is mentioned by former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in one of his publications.

During the Cold War, the superpowers came to the brink of a nuclear war many times. We should probably say it was a miracle that the world was spared annihilation.

Russia launched a new, medium-range ballistic missile against Ukraine last week. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, this was in response to the use of U.S. and British long-range weapons against Russian territory.

And Putin had already decided to relax the standards for the use of nuclear weapons.

Where have lessons from history disappeared to? In hinting at using nuclear weapons while continuing its war of invasion, what sort of future is Russia seeking?

I am deeply apprehensive of the danger of a superpower making such an outrageous threat.

—The Asahi Shimbun, Nov. 26

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.