Putin's deadly message to the West; NATO and Russia on the brink of war

He threatened that Moscow, in response to possible aggression, would use “all available means” to protect its national interests.

According to Grushko, the Alliance has already practiced a blockade of Kaliningrad during several military exercises in the Baltic Sea and neighboring member states. He claims that NATO is militarizing the region and constantly relocating new military assets, which Moscow interprets as part of a broader strategy to pressure Russia.

“They’re literally inflating it,” he said about NATO’s troop presence.

The Russian diplomat emphasized that Kaliningrad holds key strategic importance for Russia, as it represents the westernmost point of Russian territory and is the headquarters of the Baltic Fleet. Moscow, he said, will use all means—from international law to military measures—in its defense and in protecting its national interests.

“Russia will respond appropriately to any attempt to threaten its territorial integrity and security,” he warned, accusing NATO of “forcing a confrontational course toward Russia” that threatens peace and stability in the Baltic.

Russia has long complained about NATO’s “aggressiveness,” but at the same time, through its propagandists and less formal officials, such as Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, it regularly threatens the West with confrontation and the destruction of their major cities.

“Kaliningrad would disappear in the first hours”

U.S. General Ben Hodges, commenting on Russian threats, previously stated that NATO, in the event of an attack on any member state, would destroy Russian military capabilities not only in Kaliningrad but also in Sevastopol within a few hours.

“If Russia were to attack Poland in 2025 as it did Ukraine, it would be destroyed by NATO air and ground forces. You can be sure that Kaliningrad would be obliterated in the first hours,” Hodges said, adding that this Russian city would practically cease to exist.

The heavily militarized Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania, which also hosts Russian nuclear forces, is considered a potential flashpoint for conflict between the Alliance and Moscow.

The territory of today’s Kaliningrad region was settled by Prussians in the late Middle Ages. Later, Germans (especially in the western part), Lithuanians (throughout the region), and Poles (in Kaliningrad and today’s southern border area) lived there.

The area belonged to the Duchy of Prussia until the 18th century. It was conquered by Russia in 1946, having previously been part of Germany.

Throughout history, the city has had multiple names—from the Lithuanian Karaliaučius, the Polish Krolevec, the Czech Kralovec, and the German Königsberg, to the current Russian Kaliningrad.