Kremlin lays groundwork for potential attack on Baltic states - ISW
Photo: The Kremlin is building justification for an attack on the Baltics (Getty Images)
Moscow is systematically preparing the информационный groundwork for a potential attack on the Baltic states — and is doing so now, while negotiations on Ukraine are ongoing, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
Russia’s Security Council accuses Lithuania
On April 23, Russia’s Security Council claimed that Lithuanian authorities had allegedly created a “hotbed of tension” near the border with the Kaliningrad region and were militarizing the country under the guise of “defense against Russia.”
On the same day, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told RIA Novosti that NATO’s Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) exercises simulate scenarios of a naval blockade and the seizure of the Kaliningrad region.
Grushko also accused the Alliance of deliberately “intensifying confrontation” with Russia.
What analysts say
According to ISW, these statements are part of the Kremlin’s information warfare. The goal is to convince audiences that NATO is the aggressor — not Russia, which invaded Ukraine.
“The Kremlin has been using its control of the Kaliningrad region in particular to set justifications for future Russian aggression against the Baltic States or Poland under the guise of defending the Kaliningrad region,” ISW said.
Meanwhile, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that Russia could attack a NATO country within months, not years.
As previously reported by RBC-Ukraine, in an interview with Financial Times he also expressed doubts about whether the United States would respond adequately to such an attack.
It was also reported that the Baltic states, in response to growing threats, urged the rest of Europe to permanently abandon any normalization of relations with Russia.
