Don’t relax. “Three years ago, the idea that Ukraine would be attacked also seemed unlikely.” What the NATO commander announces :: Karyba :: www.technologijos.lt

In the event of an armed conflict between Russia and NATO, the alliance’s troops will have to “neutralize” Kaliningrad, said former NATO commander in Europe James Stavridis.

“In the event of war, Kaliningrad will need to be neutralized so that Russian ground forces, probably operating through Moscow’s vassal state of Belarus, cannot take over critical control of the Suwalki Corridor, which runs along the Lithuanian-Polish border,” he wrote in his Bloomberg article.

According to him, after Finland and Sweden join the North Atlantic Alliance, NATO can use the Baltic Sea to put pressure on Kaliningrad, which is a “geographic wedge” between the other members of the alliance. He added that the bulk of the RF Baltic Fleet is based in the Kaliningrad region, and the city itself hosts a large number of air and missile forces.

According to J. Stavridas, Alliance members should not underestimate the threat of Russian invasion of the Baltic countries.

“For some, this threat may seem exaggerated – what is the probability that V. Putin will cause a major crisis at sea or invade one of the Baltic countries?” Well, three years ago, the idea that he would launch an attack on Ukraine also seemed unlikely.” – emphasized the former NATO commander in Europe.