NATO’s Rhetoric Heats up OVER Kaliningrad

Perhaps the most dangerous question facing Europe is no longer whether Russia and NATO could come into direct conflict, but where such a confrontation would begin—and how quickly it could spin out of control and draw everyone in.

Looking for potential soft spots in the underbelly of Russia, it seems that if a Russia-NATO showdown erupts in the Baltic, Kaliningrad would likely be the most dangerous flash point. Once the northern part of East Prussia and part of Germany until the end of World War II, the territory was transferred to the Soviet Union in 1945 and its German population was largely replaced by Soviet settlers. Today, Kaliningrad continues as a Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea, separated from mainland Russia and caught between NATO members Poland and Lithuania.

Such a location presents Kaliningrad an unusual place of strategic significance. It is simultaneously an isolated outpost of Russian territory and serves a heavily militarised position inside the NATO-dominated Baltic region. You could go as to describe it as a FOB (Forward Operations Base).

The oblast hosts major Russian Baltic Fleet facilities and other military assets, intelligence gathering systems and services, and a host of weapons systems including Iskander ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

This is a topic which has been discussed in NGOs, and which NATO itself is reluctantly “coming to accept”. The fact is that Kaliningrad is a vital strong point for Russia, but also potentially vulnerable due to the NATO states that surround it and the potential for a blockade.

This leads us to the not quite realistic thinking of many western leaders. Recent public statements from NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte still say Russia is not winning, while Putin himself has said Russia is winning and advancing,

Rutte was speaking at a ceremony in New York, September 24, marking the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. According to the Associated Press account of his remarks, he said:

“Putin is........

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