- Russia has devoted increasing military resources to Ukraine but maintains an outpost in Kaliningrad.
- Perched on the Baltic, nuclear and conventional forces in Kaliningrad can strike deep into Europe.
- Loitering munitions that Ukraine is using may be useful for tracking Russian missiles in Kaliningrad.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine in February 2022 has pushed tensions between Moscow and NATO to their highest level in decades
Over the past 18 months, there have been close calls along the alliance’s borders with the two warring countries, and NATO and Russian aircraft have tangled over the Black Sea. The tense environment has been punctuated by Russian threats of nuclear strikes against the West in response to NATO’s military support for Ukraine.
While the world has focused on the fighting in Ukraine, Russian forces are still present in Kaliningrad, Russia’s exclave on the Baltic Sea, where Moscow has based its Baltic Fleet, stationed ground troops, and stored nuclear weapons …