Recently, Russia conducted drills and simulated a nuclear strike just a few hours after its upper parliament took steps to revoke the country’s ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.


Now, one would think that this would be a field day for preppers. A nuclear-armed nation conducting tests in the middle of a war? A war in which the country has intoned about using nuclear weapons? Surely all this news is bringing preppers to their bunkers and causing them to crack open one of their many cans of apocalypse-ready SpaghettiOs!


Nah. On the subreddit r/PrepperIntel, the prepper community is taking the news with a surprising amount of “who gives a shit.”



“I worked in missile defense for a long time. We ran simulations like this at least once a year. I wouldn’t get too spun up about this particular action,” wrote one user. “It’s the equivalent of a government running a simulation for flooding. Yes, I expect them to run simulation so they are ready and plan accordingly in the small off-chance it happens. It’s the job of government lol,” added another.


Others pointed out that the weapons Russia has now aren’t what they used to be. “Russian ICBMs, really Soviet leftovers, are possibly more dangerous to the people launching them than their targets,” detailed a commenter. “They use corrosive fuel, and need to be fueled before they can be launched (so there’s a need to think ahead). And the regular maintenance they need probably hasn’t happened in years.”


Naturally, there were also some who thought this spelled the beginning of World War III. However, the mood of the thread was more tired than anything. “Cool put us out of our misery. Get on with it. I got things to tend to,” stated a user. “Sick of this sabre rattling. The only thing that is rattling is the last two brain cells fighting for third place.”


Some part of this malaise probably has to do with the fact that a nuclear bomb would destroy everything in its way, bunker or no bunker. Then again, maybe these guys are just bitter about spending all their excess cash on tactical gear they’re realizing they’ll never be able to use.


But if the nuke does actually hit, all I ask is that you save me a spot in the bunker. I do wonders with canned carrots.