Vladimir Putin on Thursday visited a Russian territory sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland, a day after the start of one of the largest NATO military exercises since the Cold War.
The Russian president was said to taunt Baltic nations with his airplane flying close to Estonia and hugging the coasts of Latvia and Lithuania before landing in Kaliningrad, The Telegraph reported.
About 90,000 troops are taking part in NATO's Operation Steadfast Defender 2024, which began Wednesday, and the exercise will take place primarily in Finland, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, according to the Pentagon.
Fighter jets were deployed off the eastern coast of the Swedish island of Gotland as Putin approached the Baltic Sea, The Telegraph reported. Talking to students at the Kant Baltic Federal University, Putin criticized Kaliningrad's neighbors for tearing down Soviet war memorials.
"This is stunning ignorance and lack of understanding of where they live, what they are doing, and what will follow," he said.
Camille Grand, an analyst with the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank, told The Telegraph that Putin was sending several messages, including reminding people in Kaliningrad that "you're Russia."
"This is in my view a clear attempt to signal that the Baltic Sea is no NATO sea after Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO," Grand said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the visit was not intended to send a warning to NATO but for the purpose of boosting "development," according to The Telegraph.
"When the president visits the regions of the Russian Federation, it is not a message to NATO countries," Peskov said. "The most important thing is not to send messages, but to do what he has been doing for many years: working on the development of our country and our regions."
Kaliningrad is viewed as the most likely place for a war to break out between Russia and NATO, according to The Telegraph. Moscow deployed warplanes armed with state-of-the-art hypersonic missiles to the region shortly after its invasion of Ukraine. It then threatened to deploy missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads to the province.
The 60-mile Suwalki Gap on the border between Poland and Lithuania connects Kaliningrad with Russia's ally Belarus, where Russian troops are stationed.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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