What happened during the Cuban Missile Crisis — the 13-day standoff that almost ended the world

Concerns about the possible use of a nuclear weapon have grown due to the war in Ukraine and increased tensions between NATO and Russia.

The crisis could have ended in a nuclear catastrophe, but fortunately it didn't.

Disaster was only narrowly avoided by careful diplomacy during the 13 day standoff in October 1962. 60 years ago, the missile crisis took place.

Here's what went down:

Associated Press

Kennedy forcefully addressed the public that evening on television, saying that theQuarantine would remain in place until the missile sites were dismantled and weapons deliveries to Cuba were stopped.

He said that any missile attack from Cuba would be seen as an attack by the Soviets and would merit a response.

"This secret, swift, and extraordinary build up of Communist missiles, in an area well-known to have a special and historical relationship to the United States and the nations of the Western Hemisphere, in violation of Soviet assurances, and in defiance of American and hemispheric policy, was announced by Kennedy

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Kennedy received a letter from Khrushchev that demanded the removal of the Jupiter missiles from Turkey.

The U-2 plane was shot down by the Soviets. The pilot was dead.

Kennedy only responded to the warmer letter he had sent the day before. He welcomed the statement of your desire to seek a prompt solution to the problem after reading your letter.

The Attorney General of the United States, Robert Kennedy, and the Ambassador of the Soviet Union, Anatoly Dobrynin, reached an agreement that the Soviets would withdraw their missiles from Cuba. The US would promise not to attack Cuba and remove its missiles from Turkey.