Russia, Putin surprises in Kaliningrad. The sign on the border with NATO

Russian President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad yesterday. The city, located on the Baltic Sea and bordering NATO member states Poland to the south and Lithuania to the north and east, is considered a potential flashpoint for a future conflict between the Atlantic Alliance and Russia. Putin’s trip was the first since Finland, located across the Baltic Sea, joined NATO in April 2023.

However, in the end, Turkey also formally ratified Sweden’s membership of the Alliance. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said he supports Sweden joining the alliance, which would effectively turn the Baltic Sea into what has been dubbed by some a “NATO lake.” Putin’s visit to Kaliningrad was seen by some analysts as “a clear attempt to emphasize that the Baltic Sea is not a NATO sea”. And it also served – they add – to remind Kaliningrad residents that they are part of Russia, as well as to demonstrate that Russia still has important military resources in the enclave, in view of a possible open war.

Source: IL Tempo

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