Nuclear tension in the Baltic between NATO and Russia. The ever closer possibility of Sweden and Finland joining the Atlantic alliance (an approach caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine) worries Moscow, which in the last few hours has come to question the region’s nuclear-free status.
In Finland that NATO wants. “After Ukraine it can be our turn”
by our correspondent Tonia Mastrobuoni
The threat came first from the words of the former Russian president Dmitry Medvedevnow vice president of the Security Council of Russia, and then reiterated by the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. “One can forget about the non-nuclear Baltics – Medvedev wrote on Telegram – if Sweden and Finland join NATO”. And he continued: “It will no longer be possible to speak of nuclear-free status for the Baltic, the balance will have to be restored. So far Russia has not taken these measures and was not willing to do so”. The Kremlin promptly took sides with the former president: “We share Medvedev’s words”.
Peskov recalled among other things that there is an order from the president Vladimir Putin for the western flank of the Federation to be strengthened considering the military strengthening of NATO. “Once the plan to strengthen our western borders has been defined, a list of all the necessary measures, the steps to be taken will be presented and all of this will be discussed in a conference chaired by the president.”
The escalation, for now only verbal, was triggered by the decision of Sanna Marin, Prime Minister of Finland, which shares a 1,300-kilometer border with Russia, who presented to the Finnish Parliament the white paper outlining the change in the security situation after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which will be the basis for the debate in Parliament and the decision on joining NATO. A decision, said Marin, that will be “a matter of weeks, not months”. Also there Sweden appears willing to announce the decision to join NATO before the next summit of the Atlantic Alliance to be held in June in Madrid.
Lithuania, through its premier Ingrida Simonyte, has made it known that the threats are not “new again”. “The current Russian threats seem rather strange, when we know that even before the war in Ukraine, the Russians kept their weapons 100 kilometers from the Lithuanian border. Nuclear weapons have always been kept in Kaliningrad. The international community, the countries of the region. , they are perfectly aware of it. They use them as a threat. “
Over the past week, NATO air drills with Finland and Sweden have been conducted in the Baltic countries. “The Allies concluded a week of intense cooperation with Finland and Sweden in the skies of Estonia with the Ramstein Alloy exercise. It was an opportunity to train together and improve the ability of NATO air forces to work together and with the partners “. This was reported by the spokesperson of the Atlantic Alliance, Oana Lungescuattaching an official note to a tweet.
“The Ramstein Alloy exercise covers two days of training practicing real-world scenarios faced by air police personnel deployed in the Baltic region,” explains the Alliance, noting that such tests “are the foundation of the Air Policing mission” of the NATO, “which is part of the 360-degree deterrence of the Euro-Atlantic area”.
Born, an “Italian” commander in Europe: it will be up to him to manage the new challenge with Russia
by our correspondent Paolo Mastrolilli
