"We hear it and, as they say, we are keeping an eye on it. The most important thing is that we continue to work on achieving the goals set by the president as part of the special military operation: preventing any threats to Russia from our Western neighbors," Lavrov began at a press conference.
Then the head of Russian diplomacy said that he took a "philosophical approach" to NATO's statements. Today they say one thing, and tomorrow they say something else, said Sergei Lavrov, who unintentionally described the basic assumptions of Moscow's foreign policy.
Later in the briefing, there were references to the loud commotion around the Königsberg Oblast. Based on a few loose comments from public figures and a television series ("The Wargame"), Russia concluded that NATO was planning an offensive on this piece of land on the Baltic Sea. During his speech at the Valdai Discussion Club, Vladimir Putin announced that any attempt of aggression against the exclave between Poland and Lithuania would be met with the activation of Russia's full arsenal, including nuclear weapons. Lavrov decided to recall this position on Tuesday, stating:
At the forum in Valdai, the president gave a very clear answer to the question about the possibility of a possible attack on the Kaliningrad Oblast. He said: There will be one answer for the Kaliningrad Oblast and for every other region
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz informed about the planned visit of General Grynkewich. He said he had already read the document prepared by the American military and highly appreciated the proposals presented therein.
The strategy, referred to as "Theory of Victory", is intended to concern the management of the forces of the Alliance countries, especially in the context of the security of NATO's eastern flank. The commander of NATO allied forces in Europe, General Alexus Grynkewich, is scheduled to come to Poland next week to present a strategy that, as NATO emphasizes at every step, is a defensive strategy.
Königsberg is a problem mainly in the minds of representatives of the Russian authorities
The Königsberg Oblast plays a key role in the military security architecture and geopolitics of Central and Eastern Europe. It is a Russian exclave completely separated from Russian territory, located on the Baltic Sea, bordering Poland and Lithuania.
The oblast is often called the "fortress on the Baltic Sea". Russia has deployed advanced air defense systems there (e.g. S-400), long-range cruise missiles (Kalibr) and coastal defense systems (Bastion), which allows it to control the air and sea space over a large part of the Baltic Sea and neighboring countries.
The main base of the Russian Baltic Fleet is located in Baltiysk, which provides Moscow with a permanent military presence and the ability to project power in the region.
The location of the oblast means that transport and economic relations between mainland Russia and the exclave depend on transit through Lithuania (which is a member of the European Union and NATO), which regularly generates diplomatic tensions (especially in the context of international sanctions).
Since the enlargement of the European Union and NATO to include Poland and the Baltic countries, the oblast has become a highly militarized "island" surrounded by Western countries, which strongly affects its economic and logistic specificity.
Russian authorities and diplomacy raise the issue of potential NATO actions aimed at isolating the oblast from the rest of the Russian Federation. Since the exclave lies between Poland and Lithuania, and its land supplies depend on transit through the territory of EU and NATO member states, Moscow fears scenarios of a transport or energy blockade.
From Moscow's perspective, the Baltic Sea area has become largely surrounded by countries belonging to the Alliance, which drastically limits the operational freedom of the Russian Baltic Fleet and makes the exclave itself difficult to defend in the event of an open clash. For this reason, the "fortress on the Baltic Sea" is also referred to as "Russia's Achilles heel", which makes Moscow react very nervously when anyone in the West utters the words "Königsberg Oblast" in the same phrase with "NATO" and "deterrence".
The fact that the Russians will not be able to sleep peacefully if an open conflict starts was reminded by the large-scale air maneuvers that NATO organized in August. Unusually, the Alliance did not inform about their purpose, but it is known that dozens of military aircraft for various purposes appeared over the Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea. The exercises coincided with reports of Moscow's possible preparations to expand military operations from Ukraine to the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance, including the Baltic countries and Poland.
Russia can, in a trivial way, remove the threat it is trying to defend itself against so bravely. Just don't attack NATO.
