Russia warns NATO it is ready to use nuclear weapons as tensions rise in the Baltics

Moscow has warned NATO that it is prepared to use nuclear weapons if the alliance attempts to cut off Kaliningrad, the Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea.

In a document sent to NATO, which Reuters has seen, Russia accused the alliance of a “dangerous and reckless course” that carries a “high risk of a direct armed conflict.”

The document states that this includes the possibility of “Russian strikes on decision-making centers in NATO member states.”

“Russia will be ready to use the full arsenal of forces and capabilities at its disposal, including nuclear weapons, to defend its territory if NATO countries undertake any attempt to isolate the Kaliningrad region from the rest of the country,” the diplomatic note states.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, in a comment published on the ministry’s website, pointed to statements by officials from NATO countries, which she said demonstrate “Russophobia” and a readiness for war with Moscow.

Those individuals, Zakharova said, “need to be brought down to earth.”

“We hope that our warnings will be heard by those to whom they are addressed. If Europe attacks Russia, it will be a completely different kind of war—a very short war,” Zakharova stated.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that in response to Russia, NATO conveyed that the alliance is a “defensive alliance” and that Moscow should “stop with the nuclear threats.”

“That is absolutely unnecessary and does not help,” NATO told Russia, Rutte said.

In response to the Russian document, which Reuters also saw, NATO stated that none of its “exercises or activities pose a threat to Russian territory.”

NATO called on Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine, to refrain from increasingly reckless behavior toward allies, and to stop its irresponsible nuclear rhetoric, the statement said.

Asked whether the risk of using nuclear weapons against the Baltic states is now real, Rutte said at a defense conference in Brussels that it is not.

“No, it is not. Putin knows he can never defeat NATO, so I do not take it too seriously,” Rutte said.