Admiral James Stavridis warns Kaliningrad exclave must be ‘neutralised’ to protect ‘NATO Lake’ in case of war with Russia

Admiral James Stavridis, a former supreme commander of NATO forces in Europe, warns that the Baltic states could become Moscow’s next target and that the exclave of Kaliningrad should be “neutralized” in the event of a war with Russia.

Stavridis recalls in an opinion editorial published Thursday by the Bloomberg agency that, with the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO, some analysts began to describe the Baltic Sea as a “NATO lake”.

The US admiral, who was the supreme commander of allied forces in Europe between 2009 and 2013, says, however, that this assessment, while appropriate, is not entirely accurate as Russia “controls a strip of coast between Lithuania and Poland because of its bizarre exclave of Kaliningrad “.

“And President Vladimir Putin remains in control of the far eastern corner of the Baltic Sea around the city of St. Petersburg — which, ironic to think now, was once considered by tsars, beginning with Peter the Great, to be the ‘window to the Western world’ ‘”, he notes.

Stavridis says NATO could use its Baltic “lake” to put pressure on Kaliningrad, which acts as a geographic barrier between Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and the rest of the alliance.

The former NATO commander draws attention to the vulnerability of the land link between the Baltic states and the rest of the Alliance

“In the event of war, [exclava] Kaliningrad will need to be neutralized so that Russian ground forces – likely operating from Moscow’s vassal state of Belarus – cannot seize control of the critical Suwalki Corridor, which runs along the border between Lithuania and Poland,” explains James Stavridis in comments picked up by TASS and other Russian news agencies.

The Suwalki Corridor, which separates the Kalinigrad exclave from Belarus, belongs entirely to Poland and Lithuania, but is considered vulnerable because it is the only land corridor connecting the Baltic countries to the rest of Europe.

Military analysts believe that, in the event of a war between Russia and NATO, this would be the first territory attacked by Putin’s forces, both to create a land connection with Kaliningrad and to cut the one between the Baltic countries and the rest of the Alliance.

“To some this threat might seem exaggerated – what are the chances that Putin will create a major crisis at sea or invade one of the Baltic states? Well, three years ago the idea that he would launch an assault on Ukraine also seemed improbable; don’t try to read the Kremlin man’s mind,” warns James Stavridis.

Putin once again flings Russian nuclear weapons at NATO

Bloomberg published Stavridis’ op-ed on the same day as Russia celebrates victory in World War II, or the “Great Patriotic War,” as it is called by Russians.

In his annual address to Russians on this occasion, Vladimir Putin spoke in particular about what he described as the “distortion of the truth” about the Second World War, the “difficult” period Russia is going through, and the determination to respond to Western threats , including with nuclear weapons, if appropriate.

“We reject the exclusivity claims of any state or alliance. We know where such exorbitant ambitions lead. Russia will do everything to prevent a global clash, but at the same time we will not allow anyone to threaten us. Our strategic forces are always on alert,” he said, referring to Russia’s nuclear forces.

Sergei Ryabkov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, said in turn that Russia had warned its Western adversaries that it felt compelled to increase its nuclear deterrent, citing an “escalation” of threats from the West.

Ryabkov was quoted by state news agency RIA as saying that Russia is not changing its nuclear doctrine, which allows for the use of nuclear weapons in the event of an existential threat to the state, however.

“At the moment, there are no changes in this regard. But the situation itself is changing, so how the basic documents in this area relate to the needs of ensuring our security is the subject of constant analysis,” said Riabkov.

“We are warning our adversaries that their escalating trajectory is, of course, confronting us with the need to take action that is, in effect, strengthening our deterrence measures,” the official added.

He said the drills involving Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons, announced by Moscow earlier this week, were part of those efforts.

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