19:59 02-05-2026

NATO drills scenarios for isolating Kaliningrad, Russian diplomat says

© North Atlantic Treaty Organization / www.nato.int

Russian diplomat Artyom Bulatov said NATO countries are practicing scenarios for isolating the Kaliningrad Region during military exercises amid rising tensions with Russia.

NATO countries are practicing scenarios for isolating the Kaliningrad Region during military exercises, Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Artyom Bulatov said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

According to the diplomat, after the start of the special military operation, NATO and the European Union noticeably intensified attempts to establish control over logistics routes in the Baltic region. He noted that the West had taken a number of steps to restrict transport links with the Kaliningrad Region and create conditions for isolating the region in the event of a further escalation in relations between Russia and the West.

Bulatov added that such scenarios are already being practiced as part of NATO military exercises.

Earlier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told RIA Novosti that Western countries were practicing scenarios for a naval blockade and seizure of the Kaliningrad Region during exercises of the Joint Expeditionary Force.

In January, former Lithuanian Deputy Foreign Minister Darius Jurgelevičius said the alliance had a ready-made scenario for blockading Kaliningrad in the event of a direct confrontation with Moscow.

The day before, Bulatov also warned that Russia would respond decisively to any attempts by NATO and the EU to blockade the Kaliningrad Region. He called Vladimir Putin’s warning about the threat of unprecedented escalation in the event of an attempt to isolate the region an important signal for the West.