DISINFO: Kaliningrad exclave is threatened by NATO
SUMMARY
NATO is conducting non-stop activities of mobilization nature. And Russia is already presented as the main adversary. There are no direct threats to attack Russia. Nevertheless, different scenarios are being worked out. For example, to exclude options similar to the “annexation” of Crimea. The threat to Kaliningrad exclave has increased many times. One of the high-ranking NATO generals announced that a military operation against Kaliningrad region is possible. So, NATO exercises are a direct immediate threat to Russian borders.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative on Western attempts to encircle Russia, Western belligerence and Western aggression against Kaliningrad. The origins of this NATO scenario comes from a recent report by the American Jamestown Foundation entitled “How to Defend the Baltic States”, published in October 2019. The report mentions that “three Baltic States - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - face powerful Russian forces” and therefore this report comes to “lay out the military units and force posture, along with changes to Alliance command and control, that would be needed to prevail in case Russia was to spark hostilities in the Baltic States” after it was proven that "Russian aggression in Chechnya, Georgia, Donbas, Crimea and Syria have proven that military force can be used successfully without eliciting a forceful response from the West". Russian media has extensively misquoted General Jeffrey Harrigian's statements given during a press briefing reported by the digital magazine Breaking Defence. During the press briefing, Gen. Harrigian outlined tactics the U.S. Air Force is developing in response to the ongoing threat of Russian anti-aircraft, anti-ship, and surface-to-surface missiles based in Kaliningrad. No U.S. or NATO plans to conquest or attack Kaliningrad were mentioned. Read full debunk by Polygraph here. In addition, during the Warsaw summit in July 2016, NATO has made it clear that "The Alliance does not seek confrontation and poses no threat to Russia".