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Russia Sends NATO Formal Nuclear Warning Over Kaliningrad
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Russia privately threatened NATO that it could use nuclear weapons if the alliance attempted to isolate Kaliningrad, Russia’s heavily militarized exclave between Poland and Lithuania, Reuters reported on September 30.
In a diplomatic note sent to NATO and reviewed by Reuters, Moscow accused the alliance of pursuing a “dangerous and reckless course” that carried “high risks of the outbreak of a direct armed conflict.”
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The warning comes amid growing concern over Russian hybrid operations across Europe, including sabotage, arson, cyberattacks, and other hostile activity that governments have linked to Moscow. UNITED24 Media recently detailed how these operations have intensified across the continent.
The document warned that such a confrontation could include “Russian strikes against decision-making centers in the alliance’s member states right from the outset.”
“Russia will be ready to use the entire arsenal of forces and capabilities at its disposal, including nuclear weapons, in order to defend its territory should NATO countries undertake any attempt aimed at isolating the Kaliningrad Region from the rest of the country,” the note stated.
Kaliningrad is a heavily militarized Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea between NATO members Poland and Lithuania. Reuters noted that Moscow has increasingly portrayed allied military activity around the region as a direct threat.
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NATO rejected the accusation in a written response also reviewed by Reuters, stating that it is a defensive alliance and that its exercises do not threaten Russian territory.
“None of NATO’s exercises or activities pose a threat to the territory of the Russian Federation,” the alliance stated. “We urge the Russian Federation to refrain from increasingly reckless behaviour towards the Allies and to cease its irresponsible nuclear rhetoric.”
Nikolai Sokov, a Vienna-based nuclear analyst and former Russian diplomat, told Reuters that the warning could reflect growing concern in Moscow over Western arms supplies to Ukraine, sanctions, military exercises, intelligence flights, and possible restrictions on Russian shipping in the Baltic.
“They expect more action, including a blockade of the Baltic Sea — just below the level of war in European calculation, but for them this will be open war,” Sokov stated. “I see a risk of mutual miscalculation.”
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Russian embassies in at least three European countries have also issued warnings in recent days accusing NATO of escalating tensions around Kaliningrad, Reuters wrote. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov described the statements as diplomatic reminders to “hotheads in Europe.”
A NATO diplomat characterized the Russian note as another attempt to intimidate European countries and emphasized that the alliance would continue supporting Ukraine. A senior European defense official told Reuters it was the first threat of this kind from Russia since the Cold War and described it as serious.
A day earlier, Russia had already threatened nuclear retaliation if NATO attempted to blockade or attack Kaliningrad, with its embassy in the UK warning that Moscow could respond using “all means available,” including nuclear weapons.
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