Yes they did. The US had missles pointing at the USSR, the USSR had missles pointing at the US, and everybody else didn't know what too do.
Cuba
After the Bay of Pigs, Cuba needed protection and turned to the USSR. The USSR agreed to place nuclear missiles in Cuba and buy Cuba's sugar which America stopped buying due to the trade embargo. It wanted to place missiles in Cuba as it was only 90 miles away from American soil and the USA had missiles around 90 miles away in Turkey aimed at the USSR.
The Soviet Union decided to place nuclear missiles in Cuba primarily to counter the strategic advantage the United States held in its deployment of missiles in Turkey and other locations close to the Soviet border. Additionally, placing missiles in Cuba aimed to protect the Cuban regime from potential U.S. invasion, especially after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion. This move was also intended to project Soviet power and deter U.S. aggression in Latin America. Ultimately, it was a strategic gamble that escalated Cold War tensions, leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
No missiles were used in the Cuban missile crisis. No one fired a one. It was caused by the fact that the Soviet Union had missiles in Cuba aimed toward the United States that caused the crisis.
The Soviet Union and the United States reduced nuclear arms primarily through a series of treaties aimed at arms control, including the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I and II) in the 1970s, which sought to limit the number of nuclear weapons and delivery systems. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) in 1987 eliminated an entire class of nuclear missiles. Additionally, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) in 1991 further reduced the number of strategic nuclear warheads. These agreements were part of broader diplomatic efforts to ease Cold War tensions and promote global security.
Cuba
Soviet Union
After the Bay of Pigs, Cuba needed protection and turned to the USSR. The USSR agreed to place nuclear missiles in Cuba and buy Cuba's sugar which America stopped buying due to the trade embargo. It wanted to place missiles in Cuba as it was only 90 miles away from American soil and the USA had missiles around 90 miles away in Turkey aimed at the USSR.
No missiles were used in the Cuban missile crisis. No one fired a one. It was caused by the fact that the Soviet Union had missiles in Cuba aimed toward the United States that caused the crisis.
Nikita Kruchev
Because we had been on the verge of a nuclear war with the Soviet Union for a while. The U.S had tried to assassinate Castro (Cuba's leader) during the Bay of Pigs. Kennedy also said some things that made the Soviet Leader, Khrushchev angry. So, Castro started to buddy up to Khrushchev. The U.S had several military bases throughout the word and our nuclear weapons were all aimed at the Soviet Union but the Soviets didn't have a place to be able to readily attack the U.S. Khrushchev just needed "one place" so he offered to arm Cuba with missiles. Kennedy wanted the missiles out of Cuba to prevent nuclear war.
The SALTI treaty was designed to limit the number of strategic nuclear weapons possessed by the United States and the Soviet Union. It aimed to promote arms control and reduce the risk of nuclear war during the Cold War.
The only countries that the USSR aimed missiles at were China, and the US, they did so to try to equalize the strategic balance. Because the US had placed missiles in West Germany, Turkey, Greece, and an island in the pacific. So the USSR felt tat they were under gunned and placed more missiles in more places.
The Soviet Union, aka the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), aka Russia.
The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) meetings resulted in the signing of two treaties: SALT I in 1972, which limited the number of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and SALT II in 1979, which aimed to reduce and limit the number of strategic nuclear weapons. These treaties were significant in reducing the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
President Kennedy informed Americans that he had taken three key actions: he established a naval blockade around Cuba to prevent further Soviet shipments of missiles, he called for the withdrawal of Soviet missiles already present in Cuba, and he sought a peaceful resolution through negotiations with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. These actions were part of his response during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, aimed at ensuring national security and avoiding nuclear conflict.
In the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, reconnaissance photographs taken by a high-altitude U-2 spy plane showed that Soviet missiles were being constructed in Cuba and aimed at the United States.