July 17, 1962
Vladimir Semichastny, chairman of the USSR's secret police, the
KGB, reports to Russian
foreign minister Andrei Gromyko (shown above meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk prior to missile crisis) that there are now 17 U.S. intermediate range nuclear missiles in
Turkey.
Soviet intelligence subsequently
informs Premier Khrushchev that the U.S. missiles along the
Turkish coast are nearly operational.
However, the Soviet government chooses not to reveal that
it is aware of this to the United States at this
time.
Raúl Castro departs from Moscow after two weeks of secret talks on the deployment of Soviet nuclear missiles to Cuba with Khrushchev and other high-ranking officials. The delegation doesn't release any official communication after their visit, leading the U.S. intelligence community to conclude that the mission has failed.
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