Russia to NATO: "We will defend Kaliningrad with our entire arsenal". Russian bomber falls. LIVE
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Moscow has warned NATO that the Alliance's irresponsible policy towards the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, on the Baltic, "increases the risk of a direct military confrontation, because Moscow is ready to use its entire arsenal of weapons to defend its territory should NATO attempt to block the region". A Russian Tu-95 strategic bomber crashed during a training flight in the Amur region, in the far east of the Russian Federation, causing 6 deaths
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Russia, through its embassy in Belgium, has written to NATO to protest against NATO's "adventurist and irresponsible" line, which would include exercises aimed at simulating the "isolation" of the Kaliningrad exclave, which "significantly increases the risks of direct armed conflict". Russia is ready to resort to "the entire arsenal of weapons at its disposal" to defend its territory, the statement said. NATO confirms that it has received the letter and that it has also responded, denouncing "threats" to use force by Russia and recalling the defensive nature of the Alliance.
A Russian Tu-95 strategic bomber crashed during a training flight in the Amur region in the far east of the Russian Federation, killing six crew members and injuring one. This was reported by the Ministry of Defence, cited by Tass. The plane flew without armament.
For further information:
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What does the US-Russia peace plan include?
Ukrainian war, Zelensky at the UN: "Putin must be stopped, sanctions strengthen us"
What we know about NATO's "Sentilla dell'Est" operation
Tomahawk, how the missiles that could change the war in Ukraine work
From Bucha to Kramatorsk, up to the pediatric hospital in Kiev: the worst massacres of civilians
Tactical nuclear weapons: what they are, the differences with strategic ones, the effects
Contributions from our correspondent in Ukraine
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Kaliningrad, NATO spokesperson: "We are a defensive alliance"
Back and forth between Russia and NATO. Moscow, through the Russian embassy in Belgium, warned NATO that the Alliance's irresponsible policy towards the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, on the Baltic, "increases the risk of a direct military confrontation, because Moscow is ready to use its entire arsenal of weapons to defend its territory should NATO attempt to block the region". NATO's response was not long in coming and through the Alliance's spokesperson reiterated to Moscow "that NATO is a defensive Alliance and that none of our activities or exercises represent a threat to any part of Russia".
"We are deeply concerned by the provocative statements and actions of the leadership of the Atlantic Alliance and the NATO member states towards the Kaliningrad region, an integral part of the Russian Federation. We observe - underlines in a note the Russian Embassy in Belgium, which deals with diplomatic contacts with the Atlantic Alliance - an unprecedented increase in the military activity of the Alliance along our western borders. Initiatives aimed at containing the alleged 'Russian threat' are being expanded, with large-scale exercises that simulate offensive operations. In the Baltic region, the Alliance constantly seeks to create new threats to our fleet, openly simulating specific scenarios for the detachment of the Kaliningrad region and developing plans for the military and political isolation of the North-Western ports. Operation 'Baltic Sentry' was launched, aimed at testing mechanisms for the unilateral blockade of international shipping". At the same time, the Russian Embassy underlines, "we are witnessing a strong escalation in the rhetoric of Western military and political circles, particularly on the eastern flank. Deliberately raising the level of conflict".
In light of the "aggressive policy" carried out by the NATO leadership and member countries, the Embassy communicated to the NATO International Secretariat and the Belgian Foreign Ministry "our positions of principle: We have warned that this approach sc
