World News
Moscow Warns of Nuclear Response if Kaliningrad Is Cut Off; NATO Says It Isn’t Rattled
Moscow warns: "We are prepared to use nuclear weapons if the NATO alliance tries to cut off Kaliningrad." NATO: "Enough with the threats." NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte: "The danger is not real; Putin knows he cannot defeat us."
Putin (file photo: Hadas Parush, Flash90)Russia warned NATO that it would be prepared to take measures, including the use of nuclear weapons, if the Western alliance tried to cut off Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave bordering the Baltic Sea. That is according to a document sent to NATO and published today (Wednesday) by the Reuters news agency.
"Russia will be prepared to use its full arsenal of forces and capabilities, including nuclear weapons, to defend its territory," the diplomatic note said. The document also noted that this included the possibility of "Russian strikes against decision-making centers in member states of the alliance from the very first stage."
In the document sent to NATO, Moscow accused the alliance of taking a "dangerous and reckless step" involving "high risks of the outbreak of a direct armed conflict."
The warning underscored Moscow's urgent concern over what it described as a growing NATO threat to Kaliningrad, Russian territory with a massive military presence, wedged between Poland and Lithuania.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the alliance responded to the Russian message with a statement: "We are a defensive alliance. And enough with the nuclear threats. These are things that are completely unnecessary and unhelpful."
In its written response, seen by Reuters, NATO also said that none of its "exercises or activities" poses a threat to the territory of the Russian Federation.
"We call on the Russian Federation to end its full-scale and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. We urge the Russian Federation to refrain from its increasingly reckless behavior toward allies and to stop its irresponsible nuclear rhetoric," the statement said.
When asked whether the danger of nuclear weapons being used against the Baltic states was now real, Rutte said at a security conference in Brussels organized by the Euronews broadcasting network: "No, it is not real. Putin knows he will never be able to defeat NATO, so I do not attach too much importance to it."
