A stark threat has been issued; London threatens Moscow, Russia responds: "Have no illusions…"

“Those advocating plans to blockade or attack Kaliningrad should have no illusions about the consequences. Any military action by the United Kingdom or NATO against Russian territory will be met with a response using all available means, including nuclear weapons,” the embassy said in a statement posted on Telegram, according to the TASS news agency.

The embassy was responding to an article in the British newspaper iPaper about the possibility of a NATO blockade of Kaliningrad, as well as a Sky News report examining a hypothetical military conflict scenario.

At the same time, the Russian diplomatic mission said that Moscow does not seek confrontation with NATO or Europe and has no intention of attacking them, but warned that if such a conflict were to be initiated, Russia would respond with “appropriate” means.

The text published by the British newspaper i Paper focuses on the strategic significance of Kaliningrad and possible scenarios of a conflict between Russia and NATO.

Kaliningrad is located between Poland and Lithuania and is separated from the rest of Russian territory by the territory of other countries. The area is home to the headquarters of Russia’s Baltic Fleet, as well as units of the Russian armed forces.

The Suwałki Gap has attracted particular attention from security analysts. It is an approximately 100-kilometre-long area along the Polish-Lithuanian border that connects the Baltic states with the rest of NATO territory and separates Kaliningrad from Belarus.

In recent years, Poland and Lithuania have stepped up defence planning for the area as part of preparations for various potential security scenarios on NATO’s eastern flank.