Video: Putin warns of full Arsenal response if Kaliningrad is attacked
Russian President, Vladimir Putin
Abdullateef Fowewe
Russian President Vladimir Putin has stressed that any direct attack on Russia, including its Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad, would immediately raise the question of using all available weapons.
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Speaking at the Valdai Discussion Club in Moscow on Thursday, Putin stated, “If it comes to a direct attack on the Russian Federation, in this case Kaliningrad is meant, and maybe some other territories, of course, the issue of the use by the Russian Federation of all weapons available to our country will inevitably and immediately appear on the agenda.”
He framed the remarks as defensive rather than aggressive.
“We are not scaring anyone. What you have just said, the statement of the Foreign Ministry and the letters that the Foreign Ministry has sent to some countries, is not intimidation, it is a response to an attempt to intimidate us,” Putin said.
He added that Russia has no intention of attacking anyone “neither in ’29, nor in ’30, nor in ’50,” but would respond to aggression.
The comments follow recent diplomatic warnings from Russian embassies and the Foreign Ministry.
Those notes claimed NATO was preparing an air and naval blockade of Kaliningrad and stated that Russia would be ready to use its entire arsenal, including nuclear weapons, to prevent isolation of the territory.
Kaliningrad, a heavily militarised Russian exclave wedged between NATO members Poland and Lithuania, hosts the Baltic Fleet headquarters and nuclear-capable Iskander missiles.
NATO has rejected the Russian claims.
Alliance officials have described Moscow’s nuclear rhetoric as irresponsible and stressed that NATO remains a defensive organization whose activities do not threaten Russian territory.
Secretary General Mark Rutte previously said there is no real risk of Russia using nuclear weapons against the Baltic states, noting that Putin knows he cannot defeat NATO.
Tensions in the Baltic region have risen amid ongoing Russian-Western confrontation over the war in Ukraine, increased NATO military activity near Kaliningrad, and mutual accusations of escalation.
