The Kaliningrad Oblast is a Russian enclave located on the Baltic Sea between Poland and Lithuania. It is separated from Russia proper and is the western-most province of Russia. The Kaliningrad Oblast covers about six thousand square miles. It is considered to be the most militarized zone on the entire European continent. The Russian have installed missiles, tanks, warships, soldiers, bases and listening posts.
The Lithuanian president has just confirmed that Russia has shipped nuclear-capable missiles to Kaliningrad. He said “Iskander missiles are being stationed in Kaliningrad for permanent presence as we speak. This is not just a threat to Lithuania, but to half of all European countries.” Lithuanian intelligence agencies monitored the movement of the missiles into Kaliningrad. Iskander missiles are short-range but can carry nuclear warheads.
Such missiles would play a major role in any Russian-NATO conflict. The Russians have stated that they would consider the use of such tactical nuclear weapons if they were losing a conventional ground war against NATO.
Given the present tension between the U.S. and Russia, moving such missiles into Kaliningrad is seen as a major threat to Europe. However, a Kremlin spokesperson said “I want to remind you that the placement of particular armaments and the deployment of specific military units on Russian territory are solely the sovereign issue of Russia.” The Russian defense minister said that the missiles had been deployed in response to NATO operations near Russia. It is interesting to note that while Russia says that its buildup is a private matter, they also say that it is a response to NATO operations in other countries.
NATO often stations troops in Lithuania. There is currently a contingent of German-led troops on alert in Lithuania. Britain’s top general issued a report last month saying that Russia is now a clear and present danger to NATO nations. Russia and NATO continuously argue about who is acting aggressively as they both stage wargames with troops, tanks, ships and planes around eastern Europe near the Russian border.
Russia has been accused of having territorial ambitions in eastern Europe ever since it annexed the Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. The small Baltic countries of Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia have been especially nervous about Russian actions near their borders. There was an incident last week over the Black Sea in which a Russian jet flew within five feet of a U.S. jet. Russia denies that it has any aggressive intent while accusing the West of wanting to restart the Cold War.
In the past few years, Russia has flown nuclear bombers in and out of the air space of other nations without notice. It has also sailed surface ships and nuclear submarines in and out of the territorial waters of other nations without any notice. They have repeatedly stated the intent to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on modernizing their nuclear forces and developing new nuclear weapons. Many analysts are concerned with how freely the Russians talk about using tactical nuclear weapons. I believe that it is beyond dispute that Russia is acting aggressively to intimidate other nations with its nuclear arsenal and moving Iskander missiles into Kaliningrad is just the lasted move in the game they are playing.
