How to Prep for the Ukraine-Russia War… and What Comes Next

I firmly believe that the Ukraine-Russia war is only going to escalate. It doesn’t matter what you’re currently hoping for; it matters what the signs are indicating. And right now, all the signs I see only seem to imply that this is going to get worse. Do you prep for this?

Yes, I do think a part of this is to draw Americans’ attention away from what is currently happening in the United States (like this), but I also think that these global events warrant our paying attention, too, regardless. I’ve given my reasoning as to why previously.

We are seeing continued attacks on mercantile ships throughout the European theater at the moment. A Japanese cargo ship was recently hit by a missile. The same happened to a Turkish ship. France recently intercepted a Russian cargo ship. It is only a matter of time until yet another Lusitania moment takes place. And no, it doesn’t matter whether the Lusitania moment will be staged or not. What matters are the end results, and the end results you’re going to see are an expansion of war.

China is continuing to posture against Taiwan, and the waters between China and Taiwan will become suitable for an amphibious invasion this month. I’m not saying an invasion of Taiwan will happen this month, but I am saying logistics matter.

Considering all of these factors – regardless of what you think about who is the victim or who is at fault – here are the preps I think you need to double down on now and why:

What food to prep?

As has been pointed out here at The Organic Prepper before, the United States is going to experience a fertilizer shortage this year, and that is going to be just one factor impacting our food supply. I’ve discussed the other factors HERE.

Yes, I do think that stocking up on seed for your garden is a good prep idea, but I also think that you really need to consider canned goods at the moment. They’re ready to eat, they’re highly portable, and they store well. They make good barter currency, to boot. Canned goods don’t have to worry about radioactive fallout, as does a growing corn crop, either.

I’m a fan of freeze-dried meals, but I sincerely think that cyberattacks against our power grid are highly likely in the near future. You need warm water to make those. With a power outage likely (Cyber Polygon, anyone?), boiling water is just another step between you and eating a meal. If you are forced to shelter in place, inside, without power, this makes for a bit of difficulty with meal preparation.

MREs are another fine food item to consider at the moment. I have no knowledge as to whether or not the heat packs for MREs give off dangerous gasses as they heat up the food. (Let me know in the comments!)

This food supply not only allows you to shelter in place but helps you to avoid probable food riots in the future. Read history. Literally, every single time there is a shortage of food, violence increases.

(For more information on prepping your food, check out our free QUICKSTART Guide on building your 3-layer food storage system.)

Should you prep water?

Life without water sucks (haha, but not for long). You need it to stay alive, for cleaning, for cooking, and more. If you are forced to shelter in place without any access to power, are you going to have water to drink? A gallon jug of water currently sells for around a dollar. Why would you not pick up a few and stow them away?

I would look at solar options for keeping your well running if that is your primary water source as well. If you rely on city water, at the very least, have an EPIC Nano filter. I would highly recommend looking into Berkey filters right now as well. Neither of these is a radiation-reducing option, but instead are used to keep you in clean water should your city no longer have the electricity needed to create pure water.

If you are forced to evacuate, let’s say, from fallout being brought via wind, do you have water filtration that is portable?

Prep your communications.

China is one of the largest sources of electronics to the United States. We’re already seeing problems getting many electronic components because of a shortage of chips.

This is likely to continue in the near future, and should China invade Taiwan, you are going to see worldwide sanctions be leveled against China. The US will be no exception. When this happens, those supply lines are going to dry up overnight.

Your ability to get radios will then vaporize.

This is one of the reasons I think it’s important to look at putting some money into the following comms preps now:

• Baofeng UV-5R radios
• Extra batteries for your UV-5R
• Antenna upgrades for your UV-5R
• AA battery adapters for your UV-5R
• Binoculars

These items will help you to keep your neighborhood safe. I’ve already mentioned the increase in violence that accompanies shortages of food. Don’t think your region will be exempt from that violence.

(Yes, I do believe that binoculars are a necessity here. If you’re going to be working to keep your neighborhood safe, you need to be able to accurately tell others what it is that you’re seeing.)

If you’re looking for training on how to use this gear, you’re going to want to check out the following courses.

Self-defense is likely largely taken care of.

Most preppers are already pretty well-stocked in this department. However, I have noticed that most put all of their money into guns and ammo while forgetting many other essentials.

• Cleaning kits
• CLP
• Spare parts
• Slings

Knowledge is a vital prep.

Having proper information can be the difference between staying alive and dying. Right now, you need to pick up a copy of Cresson Kearney’s Nuclear War Survival Skills. You do not want to be caught in the same situation as many Hawaiians did years ago when they found themselves at a loss for what to do when they received alerts via text that an ICBM was on the way.

PDF versions are available online for free, but I highly recommend picking up a print copy as well. Then, read it. This is an easy prep to accomplish.

I recommend looking into a shortwave radio as well. Should the grid go down within the US, you are going to want to be able to pick up information from the outside world so that you have some notion of what is going on. Anne Frank wrote about the importance of their radio and the hope it brought in her journals.

Look into a quality shortwave radio. It will pick up what you want to hear, You’re going to want to pick up a copy of the World Radio TV Handbook as well so that you can actually find those broadcasts too. It doesn’t matter if the edition is a year or two old. I would argue that the bulk of the volume won’t have changed any.

In addition to picking up a shortwave radio, I would highly suggest you discover a means of running your antenna outside of your shelter as you sit inside with the shortwave receiver. Shortwave radios don’t pick up signals as well (if at all) when they are inside a building, and an external antenna being attached and run outside will do you a lot of good. You can learn more about that HERE.

You may want to spend a little time toying around with THIS simulator as well so that you can better understand how things could play out in your region.

Don’t forget to check out our archive of TOP so that you don’t have to lug around a library with you wherever you go.

I never advocate living in fear.

When I first began to write within the prepping genre years ago, I purposefully set out with the intention of not being a fearmonger. I purposefully write my articles with the intention of avoiding that. That being said, there are times in life when there are very valid concerns that have been raised people need to know about.

To know that Pearl Harbor is coming, and to say nothing, is to stand by and watch as innocent people are slaughtered. That is something I cannot tolerate. At times in life, scary times come. To bury our heads in the sand and say, “That’ll never happen,” is not living with wisdom but to live as an idiot.

When there are real threats and plenty of reason to believe they are valid, I believe the best course of action is to act as such. Prepare accordingly, to the best of your ability, within what is in your possibility to handle. Once you’ve done that, you’ve done what you can do on your end. Don’t fret. Don’t live in worry.

Do what you can do.

With the very real threat of this Ukraine-Russia conflict escalating into something much larger than what it is currently, I think that following the above tips will help you to do just that. For more expert prepping information, register to watch the docuseries Endgame for free.

What are your thoughts, though? Can you think of another prep to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below.

About Aden

Aden Tate is a regular contributor to TheOrganicPrepper.com and TheFrugalite.com. Aden runs a micro-farm where he raises dairy goats, a pig, honeybees, meat chickens, laying chickens, tomatoes, mushrooms, and greens. Aden has two published books, The Faithful Prepper and Zombie Choices. You can find his podcast The Last American on Preppers’ Broadcasting Network.

Image by Tom Moore from Pixabay. Article cross-posted from The Organic Prepper.