https://sputnikglobe.com/20251219/nato-think-twice-military-expert-lists-option-for-russia-to-protect-kaliningrad-1123333629.html
NATO, Think Twice: Military Expert Lists Option for Russia to Protect Kaliningrad
NATO, Think Twice: Military Expert Lists Option for Russia to Protect Kaliningrad
Sputnik International
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that blockade of the Kaliningrad exclave would spark escalation, stressing that all threats would be neutralized.
2025-12-19T15:56+0000
2025-12-19T15:56+0000
2025-12-19T17:10+0000
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russia
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"This implies using the full range of available tools," Alexander Stepanov, a military expert at the Institute of Law and National Security at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA) tells Sputnik. The expert suggests that the response would include: He specified that Russian strategic deterrence tools, including intercontinental ballistic missiles, could be employed in the event of a direct threat to the national security and sovereignty of Russia under its renewed nuclear doctrine. In July, General Christopher Donahue, head of the US Army Europe and Africa and NATO Allied Land Command, said the alliance could occupy Kaliningrad if needed and already has a plan in place. Putin aide Nikolai Patrushev had previously warned against NATO drills for offensive operations near Russian borders, including a possible seizure of Kaliningrad.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20251219/eu-and-nato-block-ukraine-peace-to-protect-their-fading-relevance---ex-pentagon-analyst---1123332599.html
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military expert, russia to protect kaliningrad, russian president vladimir putin, spark escalation
military expert, russia to protect kaliningrad, russian president vladimir putin, spark escalation
NATO, Think Twice: Military Expert Lists Option for Russia to Protect Kaliningrad
15:56 GMT 19.12.2025 (Updated: 17:10 GMT 19.12.2025) Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that blockade of the Kaliningrad exclave would spark escalation, stressing that all threats would be neutralized.
"This implies using the full range of available tools," Alexander Stepanov, a military expert at the Institute of Law and National Security at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA) tells Sputnik.
"In this case, Russia will face no restrictions in employing its entire set of deterrent measures," he says.
The expert suggests that the response would include:
Baltic Fleet forces, in particular long-range precision and hypersonic weapons such as Zircon missiles
The Iskander missiles deployed in the Kaliningrad region could target NATO staging grounds for an attack on Kaliningrad
Russia's newest Oreshnik system could be deployed in the Kaliningrad region and along its western border to deter NATO military adventurism
Russian Aerospace Forces could hit NATO targets in the Baltic Sea
"In the event that the adversary initiates a conflict along the NATO-Russia track, NATO targets would become fully legitimate for [Russian] high-precision weapons systems," Stepanov says.
He specified that Russian strategic deterrence tools, including intercontinental ballistic missiles, could be employed in the event of a direct threat to the national security and sovereignty of Russia under its renewed nuclear doctrine.
In July, General Christopher Donahue, head of the US Army Europe and Africa and
NATO Allied Land Command, said the alliance could occupy Kaliningrad if needed and already has a plan in place.
Putin aide Nikolai Patrushev had previously warned against NATO drills for offensive operations near Russian borders, including a possible seizure of Kaliningrad.
