Several weapons associated with ships like the Kara could carry nuclear warheads, and an anti-submarine nuclear detonation would also be lethal to surface ships nearby. That capability does not collapse every Cold War confrontation into an immediate nuclear exchange. Conventional signaling, deterrence, and conflict normally occupy earlier steps on an escalation ladder. The cruiser's non-nuclear survivability and presence therefore remained important even under the risk of nuclear war.
Notable Point · 41:20-44:26
Nuclear armament did not erase the conventional escalation ladder
The video separates the nuclear capability of Soviet naval missiles from the conventional deterrence steps that normally shape a crisis before nuclear war.