Russia Warns NATO That Blockading Kaliningrad Would Risk Direct Armed Conflict

The Russian embassy in Belgium, which handles Moscow's contacts with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), said the alliance's course toward the Kaliningrad region is "adventurist and irresponsible" and sharply increases the risk of direct armed confrontation, Kommersant reported. The mission said Russia is prepared to use its entire arsenal to defend its territory if NATO attempts to blockade the exclave, and that it had conveyed this position to the NATO International Secretariat and the Belgian foreign ministry. TASS carried the same statement.

Kaliningrad sits between Poland and Lithuania, separated from the rest of Russia. The land corridor beside it, the 104-kilometre Suwalki Gap, is the only ground connection between the Baltic states and the rest of the alliance. The Japan Times reported from the area that residents continue with ordinary life despite the threat, while describing it as one of the most strategically sensitive points on NATO's eastern flank.

NATO has not announced any plan to blockade the region. The Russian statement responds to alliance discussion of Baltic security measures following repeated airspace and undersea infrastructure incidents.