Kaliningrad would be the first target in the event of a NATO conflict with Russia, retired US Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, the former commander of US Army Europe, said in an interview with Welt.

According to Hodges, in such a conflict the West would use cyberattacks and electronic warfare to disable as many weapons systems as possible, especially air defense and long-range systems. He said this would be followed by long-range missile strikes on key facilities in Kaliningrad. Hodges also argued that if Russia attacks a NATO country at any scale, the alliance’s task would be to regain the initiative — not necessarily only where the attack occurred. In his view, deterrence should mean making it clear to Russia that it would lose Kaliningrad very quickly, and that the region could be disabled within the first 24 hours.

In recent years, Russia has repeatedly expressed concern about what it describes as unprecedented NATO activity near its western borders. The alliance has expanded its forces, calling it «deterrence of aggression." The Kremlin has stated that Russia threatens no one, but will not ignore actions it considers potentially dangerous to its interests.

Russian presidential aide and chairman of the Maritime Board Nikolay Patrushev has previously said that any military encroachment on the Kaliningrad region would meet an immediate and crushing response using all available forces and means.