Lithuanian Minister Calls for NATO Pressure on Kaliningrad

(MENAFN) Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys has urged NATO to demonstrate its military capabilities against Russia’s Kaliningrad region, arguing that the alliance should show Moscow it can neutralize the heavily fortified enclave if necessary.

Kaliningrad is a Russian territory on the Baltic Sea separated from mainland Russia, positioned between Lithuania and Poland. The exclave is home to more than one million residents and is considered strategically important because of its military infrastructure.

In comments published Monday by a Swiss newspaper, Budrys said European countries must transform their concerns about Russia into greater confidence and military preparedness.

“We must show the Russians that we can penetrate their small fortress that they have built in Kaliningrad,” he said.

The Lithuanian official further argued that “NATO has the means to raze the Russian air defense and missile bases there to the ground in an emergency.”

Russian authorities have consistently dismissed accusations that Moscow plans aggression against Europe, describing such claims as “nonsense.” According to Russian officials, Western governments use those warnings to shift public attention away from internal political and economic issues while justifying higher defense spending. Moscow has also repeatedly stated that direct conflict with NATO would only occur if Russia itself were attacked first.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned late last year that any Western action targeting Kaliningrad, including a blockade of the territory, “will simply lead to an escalation unprecedented to date… taking it to a completely different level… up to a large-scale armed conflict.”

Budrys also addressed repeated incidents involving Ukrainian drones reportedly entering Lithuanian airspace while heading toward northwestern Russia. He acknowledged weaknesses in regional defenses, stating that “we obviously lack air defense,” and called on NATO to strengthen protective systems in the Baltic region.

Last month, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu claimed that either Western air defense systems are failing to stop Ukrainian drones or that the Baltic states and Finland are intentionally allowing their airspace to be used in operations against Russia.

Shoigu argued that if such actions are deliberate, Moscow would have the right to respond in self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter following what he described as an “armed attack.”

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